The Ways of Chaos: Book 1: Child's Play
by Neverwhere Chaos Mode
Summary: One month after Road Trip, trouble brews in the Southern Quadrant.
1. Preface: Death Sucks

I don't own digimon. That sucks almost as much as FF.net's ban on AN pages.  
  
Preface - Death Sucks  
  
_I wonder how long I've been floating here?_  
  
Here, of course, is a formless black void. Depthless, eternal, and unchanging. There is absolutely no light here. That means that I literally cannot see the hands in front of my face.  
  
I can't mistake this for the area beyond the wall of fire. There's light there, you just can't see it, if that makes any sense at all. I mean, there has to be some light there, I can see my hands when I'm in _there_ after all. I mean when, when I was fighting _him_ there, I could see everything that was going on.  
  
But that may have been because we were our own light sources. I'll have to think on it.  
  
_But I digress. No, this is definitely someplace different…_  
  
I mean, there isn't any gravity here. There wasn't any beyond the wall of fire either, but there was still some sense of up and down in there. This is different. I could be spinning faster than high-speed turbine, but without any air or gravity, I wouldn't know the difference.  
  
Or so I've heard, anyways.  
  
~Interesting… Just how _are_ you surviving without any oxygen, anyways?~  
  
"Who the hell are you? For that matter, give me a what, where, when, why and how while you're at it…"  
  
The voice chuckled.  
  
~It doesn't matter really… But I suppose if you must call me something, you may call me Vahn.~  
  
"Hold up a sec… _the_ Vahn?!"  
  
~Yeah, that'd be me.~  
  
"Holy crap…"  
  
~It's nothing to get worked up over.~  
  
"Nothing to get worked up over?! You're _him_! The @$$hole who got me into this mess!"  
  
~Don't point any fingers at me. I admit it, I screwed up all those years ago. But this mess was entirely and completely _your_ fault!~  
  
"How do you figure?"  
  
~Think back about five and a half years. You should have known better than to defeat someone like Daemon and then just leave his data floating around for a few more years! That could have stopped the entire chain of events right there! What the _hell_ were you thinking Matsuki?!~  
  
"………Oops…"  
  
~Idiot.~  
  
"Jerk."  
  
~…~  
  
"…"  
  
~But back to my earlier question, just how are you surviving without any oxygen?~  
  
"Dunno."  
  
~Idiot. Let me clue you in on something. YOU'RE DEAD!~  
  
"…Kinda figured. Was also kinda hoping you'd say otherwise though."  
  
~Hope springs eternal.~  
  
"Well, that sucks. I bet Rika's pitching a fit down there."  
  
~From what I've seen of her, that's the most probable case.~  
  
"Yeah. I miss her."  
  
~I know the feeling. Keiko was… special. In a kick your ass kind of way.~  
  
"Definitely one of Rika's defining characteristics."  
  
Vahn sighed, and we were silent for a time. Then I spoke up.  
  
"Do you know if BlackGuilmon was reformatted?"  
  
~I hope so. He wasn't the brightest bulb, thanks to a certain someone I won't name…~  
  
"Bite me."  
  
~…but he was still too nice a digimon not to be.~  
  
"Well, look at it this way. Well, when _it_ happened, he was either going to be innocent or a complete psychopath. I like to think my way was better."  
  
~Point.~  
  
"…"  
  
~…~  
  
"…"  
  
~…So… how _did_ you die anyways?~  
  
"You mean you weren't watching?! Why the hell were you yelling at me earlier then?"  
  
~Two reasons. One, I had kind of thought everything was over after you loaded Daemon. I didn't know he'd managed to kick off the prophecy before then…~  
  
"And yet you had the gall to yell at me for not noticing something you didn't either the first time around. Smooth."  
  
~Shut up. And _two_… He blocked me. I could have looked the normal way, but he was blocking that. His aura tends to do that. While the others could lend power even beyond the grave, your very existence blocked me from looking out through BlackGuilmon's eyes.~  
  
"Well excuse me for living."  
  
~Don't worry about it. In the end it didn't matter, I mean, everything came out for the best, right?~  
  
"Uh, sorta…"  
  
~Just tell me he's dead. That's all I want to know. You _did_ fulfill the prophecy, right?~  
  
"Well, yeah… that part went fine…"  
  
~Then what's the freakin' problem?!~  
  
"I am kind of dead you know… Kari's probably going to need some extreme psychotherapy, and I don't even know if more than half of the others are alive or dead…"  
  
~Well, these things happen. At least all of reality isn't really being threatened any more.~  
  
"…Talk about the long view…"  
  
~That's the only view we can take really. Think about it. But, we're off course again. Just how _did_ you die? I know why I did. I screwed up royally as you already pointed out. But how did _you_ bite it?~  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
~Does it look like either of us is going anywhere?~  
  
"Point. Well, ironically, it started about five and a half years ago, well before I'd even heard the name -"  
  
~Hold it. I already know that you didn't load Daemon, remember? I know you spent several years with the Digidestined before returning home to lay the smack down on Daemon permanently. Admittedly, we both missed Daemon's final creation in there, but the point is I was actually able to watch that part, since he wasn't powerful enough to block me then.~  
  
"Those are good points, but I was actually referring to another small… mistake… that could have cost me everything."  
  
~………And the universe depended on _you_ for help?~  
  
"Shut it. At least I didn't drive the most powerful force in existence insane. No, the snafu I was talking about took place a few days before that."  
  
~Megidramon?~  
  
"No. That was an obvious mistake. No, the mistake I made happened when I destroyed D-Reaper's core without using the C-Ark's ability to use the crystal matrix to purify things first."  
  
~Well, I'll admit that the general anger level in the Tamers went up after that, but it mostly faded by the time you came back, even if that last Megidramon event she saw did snap Jeri's mind like a fragile twig.~  
  
"While that was bad, that still wasn't the mistake I was referring to."  
  
~Huh? Nothing else really comes to mind.~  
  
I sighed. Vahn still wasn't getting it.  
  
"Look, let me just tell you what happened. The consequences of not purifying the core that day didn't catch up with us until after you were blocked anyways."  
  
~And how do you know that?~  
  
"Because I'm pretty sure you would have picked up on this if you were still able to see."  
  
~Oh.~  
  
"Exactly. Let me tell you as it was told to me…"  
  
~You weren't there?~  
  
"No, but the story does have eventual bearing on why exactly I died."  
  
~Cool. Go on.~  
  
"Anyways… this is what I got out of them…" 


	2. Tamers 02

Prologue - Tamers 02  
  
I gazed longingly at the purple on black D-Ark on the night table, hoping not to wake my sister as she tossed and turned in her sleep. I sat there and looked at it, and begged it's screen to show anything other than the static it always did now. I clenched my teeth in frustration.  
  
_If it weren't for _them_…_  
  
I still remember the day. Eleven-year-olds weren't supposed to have days they remember. At least not badly. But I remember this one. I remember the way my older sister stumbled into the house, D-Ark clutched to her chest. I remember how red her eyes were, her black hair messed up, and how utterly defeated and lost she looked. I growled lightly under my breath.  
  
_This is _their_ fault!_   
The digimon tamers had taken our sister from us. She was still here physically, but she never did anything other than mope around, like she was a ghost instead of a living, breathing, girl.  
  
The door squeaked open slightly, and I turned to look. Sticking his head in was our eight-year-old brother Mica. He looked in cautiously.  
  
"Can you help me get somethin' to eat, sis?"  
  
I nodded, and got up to go with him.  
  
_Delia should be doing this…_  
  
A little over a year ago, Delia had been the best big sister in the world. She took care of us all the time, even if she was a little gruff about it. Then she started fighting the Tamers. She wasn't around all that often then, but we were confident that once the Tamers were 'dealt with' as she put it, things would go back to normal.  
  
But things didn't go as she expected, I mused as I got Mica some cereal, and she lost, to the most evil looking dragon I've ever seen. It ripped through Armageddemon like paper.  
  
The dragon was controlled by one Takato Matsuki.  
  
Mr. Shadow told me that. He tells me and Mica a lot of things.  
  
Things we can't tell Delia. Because it might upset her, and we won't upset her anymore than she already is.  
  
Takato isn't here now, Mr. Shadow said, but he'll be back. Mr. Shadow tells us that he has friends here though. Big friends.  
  
And we have to get rid of them first. Before Takato comes back to finish the job. And we know just how to do it, too.  
  
I grinned down at the black and silver D-Ark that was mine, and the black and yellow D-Ark that was Mica's.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I walked out of my room in Henry's apartment, rubbing my tired eyes, wondering just what was going on. The noise had come from his room, and I was in no mood to be up. I had been up way past my set bed time working on a program.  
  
"Henry?"  
  
He looked up.  
  
"Oh, hi Suzie."  
  
I glanced around the room carefully.  
  
"Um, what exactly _are_ you doing big brother?"  
  
He sighed. He'd been doing that a lot lately. It had been a month since Takato's disastrous trip back here from the eastern quadrant when Jeri blew a fuse and yelled at Takato. She and Henry hadn't exactly broken up, but they hadn't spoken much since.  
  
But the real shocker came when she disappeared a few days ago.  
  
"Well, you know how Jeri just up and vanished, right?"  
  
"Yeah…? Don't tell me you're just going to go out and search blindly for her?"  
  
He shrugged a little.  
  
"I'm going after her, but it's not exactly a blind search. Not anymore anyways."  
  
_What?_  
  
"Really? Where is she that you need all of _that_?"  
  
'That' was a complete backpacker's backpack. A normal school backpack these days weighs about ten to fifteen pounds on a scale, even if we complain that they're more than that. This kind of backpack weighs closer to sixty when filled. With food, a sleeping bag, and occasionally a small tent.  
  
He sighed.  
  
"Yamaki sent me a message that a human, a Leomon and an unknown digimon entered the digital world right around when she disappeared. It has to be her."  
  
"Um, Henry? What about me?"  
  
He frowned.  
  
"You're not going. You have school."  
  
Lopmon trundled out behind me, and without thinking about it, I picked her up, and she took her place on my head, just like Terriermon still does to Henry.  
  
"That wasn't what I meant. Am I going back to mom and dad's apartment? That's a heck of a commute to school; it's why I moved out here."  
  
Terriermon stuck his head out the door.  
  
"Nope. You get to stay here and starve!"  
  
_I don't think he's forgiven me for that last 'Pwincess Pwetty Pants' routine I pulled with Impmon and Veemon. Oh well._  
  
Henry rolled his eyes.  
  
"Terriermon… You'll be fine. You're a responsible girl, and you know how to order from the grocery store online. Dad'll come by once every few days to check up on you, so no wild parties. This shouldn't take longer than a week or two, so it's not like I'll be gone forever."  
  
"Like we would ever do that big brother."  
  
He smiled.  
  
"Well, I really can't tell with you, can I?"  
  
I smiled, and then I helped him carry the backpack downstairs to the car; waving as he drove off. I tilted my eyes upward towards the digimon still on my head.  
  
"Well, looks like you and I have to hold down the fort for a few days Lopmon."  
  
She jumped down to walk beside me and gave a salute.  
  
"Right Susie! I'm good at guarding things!"  
  
I laughed, and we headed up to the apartment. I was fully prepared to enjoy both my Saturday and my 'vacation'.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I frowned, and stood up from my meditative trance.  
  
_Or what was supposed to be one, anyways. I _am_ the best. At everything. And no old lady is going to show me up!_  
  
I got up and tossed an expensive glass sculpture at the door, making a satisfying crash. A servant entered hastily.  
  
"Is everything alright sir?"  
  
I growled.  
  
"Fine. Has there been any progress in locating Nonaka?"  
  
The man shook his head.  
  
"Her mother refuses to give up any information on her daughter, and any other information is behind a security wall we can't seem to crack no matter _what_ we do."  
  
A scowl creased my face, and the guy jumped.  
  
_Coward._  
  
"Get out."  
  
The servant bowed, and hastily left. Nonaka had beaten me in the card game. That defeat could not be allowed to stand. I analyzed both her strategy and mine, and I had realized where I had gone wrong. I only had to find her to prove I was the best.  
  
I narrowed my eyes.  
  
_But if the information given by this 'Mr. Shadow' is correct, then our next fight will be on a whole new playing field._  
  
I grinned as I looked down at the black and white object. It looked like a child's toy, but held power. Real power. And that was something I liked.  
  
I picked up the 'D-Ark' as it was called and switched it over to the compass mode. I followed it down the hall and out the doors of the large mansion out to the tennis courts.  
  
Deck in pocket, D-Ark in hand, I watched a small gray rabbit dodge tennis balls from ten different pitching machines. They were set on their fastest speeds. One of the most unusual things about this tennis court is that a simple AI program combined with motion detectors made the pitching machines move and track the small digimon's position. Originally used for some rich bozo to be able to play by himself, with minor adjustments it also made for an excellent training routine.  
  
_Unless we're looking for more… lively… sparring partners that is…_  
  
The machines slowly shut down, allowing Gazimon a short time to breathe as a smaller machine, no more than a glorified vacuum cleaner really, sucked in the balls to place them back into the ball reservoirs of the pitching machines. Gazimon noticed me, and snapped up one of the balls that hadn't been claimed yet, tossing it at a small plate, which turned the system off after it finished with the balls, and he strolled over to where I was, calmly hopping the fence.  
  
"Something wrong?"  
  
"Not really. Just checking on your progress. I still can't locate Nonaka."  
  
Gazimon's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Hmmm. Are you sure you can beat her if you try again?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
"Then be patient, and let us hone our battle skills more. Crush her utterly, in _and_ out of the game. After all, if victory is assured, then do not rush to confrontation. Takes the fun out of it."  
  
He grinned viscously at me, and I had to laugh.  
  
"You're right, of course. Everything in its proper time."  
  
"Besides, decent competition is exceedingly hard to come by."  
  
I nodded and continued as we walked back to the mansion.  
  
"And life would be boring without it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A sudden commotion came from my brother's room. I waited. He'd come tell me soon enough.  
  
_3…2…1…_  
  
"AI!"  
  
I looked up from my book to see Mako slightly out of breath. I rolled my eyes.  
  
"What is it _this_ time Mako?"  
  
Mako's grin threatened to take his head off.  
  
"Come on, Ai, there's a digimon!"  
  
My eyes widened and I put the book down after marking my place.  
  
"Be right there!"  
  
Mako nodded and ran down the stairs, Impmon close on his heels. I grabbed our deck and ran downstairs to slip on my shoes. With a quick 'see-you-later-bye-mom!' we were out the door and into the streets, Impmon leading the way. We ran down the street and past the school, stopping at a digital field. Impmon looked up at it.  
  
"Oh man… maybe you guys shouldn't have come on this one… it's gonna be huge…"  
  
I looked over at Mako.  
  
"Um, Mako, if Impmon says so, maybe we should leave…"  
  
He shook his head, and I gulped.  
  
_If it scares Impmon…_  
  
Out of the fog rose a dragon like creature with purple armor that had yellow lightning bolt designs all over. It's tail ended in this weird metal-banded black ball that was letting out this eerie light. Mako raised our D-Ark at it.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
**DeaxDoruGoramon**  
  
Level: Mega  
Type: Virus  
Class: Undead  
  
Attacks:  
Metal Impulse  
Dorudin  
  
This undead dragon is perhaps the foulest digimon in existence. His Metal Impulse will hit you hard when he rams you, but his Dorudin breath can melt even the toughest materials down to molten rock.  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Impmon growled then, and began to glow.  
  
**Warp  
Digivolution_  
  
Impmon warp digivolve to… Beezlemon!**  
  
The dragon didn't even bother to start talking, it simply started attacking.  
  
"METAL IMPULSE!"  
  
Beezlemon jumped over DeaxDoruGoramon, leveling his guns at his back.  
  
"DOUBLE IMPACT!"  
  
The dragon screeched in pain as he slammed into the concrete, causing a small explosion. Mako looked back at me.  
  
"Ai! Card!"  
  
"Right!"  
  
Mako shaking me out of my trance, I shuffled through our 'battle' deck, as we refered to it. Cards useful in battle were often different from cards used in the game.  
  
"Here!"  
  
He looked at it and nodded.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Viral Boost Chip Activate!**  
  
Beezlemon roared and charged back into the battle.  
  
"DARKNESS CLAW!"  
  
But DeaxDoruGoramon simply flew above him, and leveled his tail at Beezlemon. Beezlemon, expecting to hit his target, stumbled for a moment. The funky black aura inside DeaxDoruGoramon's sphere shaped tail glowed brighter, and shot out at Beezlemon as a glowing black ball.  
  
It hit him right in the back, and he started screaming, a black mist formed over him then, forcing balls of light out of his body.  
  
The dragon just let out a large roar and flew off. I ran over to where the mist faded, revealing Impmon, looking a little battered, but otherwise okay. He looked up at us.  
  
"Impmon? Are you okay?"  
  
He nodded slowly, and then got up.  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay… I just feel a little weird after what ever it was that he did to me…"  
  
Then he clenched his teeth and furrowed his brow, starting to strain. Then he stopped, his eyes wide.  
  
"Um, guys? We may have a larger problem than I thought…"  
  
Mako looked back, obviously worried.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
He looked up at us.  
  
"The power of the sovereign… it's gone… I can't digivolve…"  
  
Then Mako said a word we're not supposed to. 


	3. The Gauntlet is Cast

Chapter 1 - The Gauntlet is Cast  
  
I grumbled as I pushed my way through the mall, those two elusive items eluding my sight.  
  
Not that I knew what the said items were yet.  
  
_Why is shopping for Mako and Ai's birthday always so difficult?_  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Some rude guy rammed into me, making Lopmon fall off my head, and be forced to grab my ponytail instead to keep from falling. I grabbed her before someone could take it as more than a figment of their imagination. I hissed under my breath.  
  
"Lopmon!"  
  
"Sorry Suzie…"  
  
I sighed, trying to ignore the weird looks I was getting. An eleven year old dragging her 'stuffed animal' into a mall wasn't exactly common.  
  
_Just because I'm short, even for an eleven year old, doesn't give them the right to ram into me…_  
  
About an hour later, I'd managed to get a book for Ai, and had placed Lopmon in the bag to prevent further mishaps, but was no closer to finding a gift for Mako. I sat down on a bench to think for a moment.  
  
"Suzie…"  
  
"Lopmon!"  
  
"Sorry Suzie, but I smell a digimon…"  
  
_Oh boy…_  
  
"Let's go…"  
  
Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that I was Henry's little sister, Lopmon and I hadn't seen much action. And now every big hitter we had except Impmon was out of town. I reached into my pockets for my deck and D-Ark.  
  
_Just because I'm inexperienced doesn't mean I can't defend myself…_  
  
I grabbed Lopmon and my bags, running where she told me to go. The area was clear of any other people, and there was no digital field around. Then she told me to stop.  
  
"He's just around the next corner, doesn't feel _too_ powerful…"  
  
I nodded, and readied a card. Just in case.  
  
"TINY TWISTER!"  
  
"Wah!!!"  
  
Lopmon threw the little digimon for a loop.  
  
"Mushroomon!"  
  
_Huh?_  
  
A little boy with straight black hair in a bowl cut ran over.  
  
"Mushroomon, are you okay?"  
  
_Whoops…_  
  
I stepped forward.  
  
"Um, sorry about that… is Mushroomon your digimon?"  
  
The boy looked up at me, and gasped; fear in his little green eyes.  
  
"Don't hurt Mushroomon, please?"  
  
The little mushroom-like digimon rolled to his feet then.  
  
"Mica? I'm okay, see? Come on, cheer up! Let's go play somewhere, okay?"  
  
Mica nodded, and got up, brushing himself off. I tried again.  
  
"I'm really sorry kid, I thought it was a wild digimon…"  
  
He looked up at me, distrust in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah right. You probably just want to fight. Come on Mushroomon, let's go play outside!"  
  
They bolted before Lopmon or I could get in another word.  
  
"Strange…"  
  
I nodded.  
  
"You said it Lopmon. Well, let's get back to shopping, eh? We still have to find a present for Mako…"  
  
She nodded and jumped back in the bag so we could move on before someone wondered what was going on.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I stared at the computer screen, a confused look on my face. I looked over at Impmon.  
  
"Um, that's not supposed to happen, is it?"  
  
Impmon was looking just as confused.  
  
"Huh? You'd think a site set up by the sovereigns wouldn't go down. Maybe it's the computer!"  
  
"Maybe…"  
  
We sat there for a few minutes just starting at the error screen, occasionally reloading the page or checking the wiring, but no luck. After a while, Impmon spoke again.  
  
"Well, we could try Henry…"  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"No, that's no good. He left for the digital world, remember? …But maybe… yeah! Suzie might be able to help!"  
  
Impmon just looked at me.  
  
"Suzie."  
  
"Yes, Impmon. Suzie. She's learned a lot from Henry you know."  
  
"Ooookay…"  
  
"Oh, quit your whining and let's go."  
  
"Right."  
  
Impmon and I left the house and proceeded down the block to Henry's apartment. I was worried and not really paying attention. That site should not have gone down. Ever. Which meant something was very wrong. Of course, my preoccupation meant that something bad could happen right under my nose and I wouldn't realize it.  
  
"ELECTRIC STUN BLAST!"  
  
The blast hit Impmon in the back, sending him sprawling.  
  
"Impmon!"  
  
I spun around as Impmon got back to his feet. He looked around warily, watching for his attacker. There was a slight flicker of movement, and Impmon went sailing back, propelled by a kick. A small gray rabbit landed in a crouch. I raised my digivice.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
Gazimon  
Level: Rookie  
Type: Virus  
Class: Mammal  
  
Attacks:  
Electric Stun Blast  
Pitfall  
  
This bunny's not quite so fuzzy as he is mean. Look out for his jumping skill though, because his Pitfall attack can mean death from above!  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Impmon wasn't one to take something like that lying down, so he was up in an instant, throwing fireballs.  
  
"BADA BOOM!"  
  
The Gazimon actually had the nerve to laugh at Impmon, barely moving to dodge the little bursts of flame. Impmon was getting steadily ticked off by this guy, and I swiped a card to be safe.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Power Activate!**  
  
Impmon grinned, and took a step back and a deep breath to prepare.  
  
"INFERNO FUNNEL!"  
  
The larger ball of fire flew forward, and I grinned along with Impmon because it looked like it was going to hit. But at the very last instant, Gazimon leapt into the air, avoiding the shot.  
  
_Oh boy…_  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Hyper Speed Activate!**  
  
"PITFALL!"  
  
Even with the card, Impmon only just missed the rabbit digimon's feet as they slammed into the pavement where he had been standing only a moment before. Gazimon barely paused in his assault.  
  
"ELECTRIC STUN BLAST!"  
  
Impmon tried dodging, but only partially managed, the blast sending him stumbling for a moment. Gazimon was quick to capitalize on Impmon's misfortune with a jump kick. I swiped a quick card.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! DemiDevimon's Demi Dart Activate!**  
  
As Gazimon closed, feet first, two darts appeared, one in each of Impmon's hands. He threw.  
  
"DEMI DART"  
  
Both darts scored direct hits, but not before Gazimon's foot impacted. Both flew backwards. Gazimon rolled to his feet looking a little winded. A quick glance at Impmon showed him struggling to get to his feet. Gazimon geared up for another strike, but a voice interrupted him.  
  
"Gazimon, no. Let him be for now. He is no real match."  
  
Though I was seriously angry, the voice was right. I was no match against whoever this was.  
  
_I had to use every card I could think of to help Impmon, and this guy didn't even use one._  
  
A figure walked out of an alley, and for a moment I was a little shocked.  
  
"Jamie?!"  
  
He grunted and smirked, exceedingly pleased with himself.  
  
"You're no match for me, Mako. I could have told you that before now, but now it's official. You're just lucky I left your little toy there in one piece."  
  
_Oh boy. That's not good…_  
  
The fastest way to pick a fight with Impmon that I knew of was either to, a, threaten one of his friends, or, b, imply that he was a possession.  
  
"Toy? TOY?! I AM NO ONE'S **TOY**!"  
  
Our eyes shot over to Impmon, whose eyes were glowing blood red.  
  
"INFERNO FUNNEL!!!"  
  
Impmon let out a staggering gout of flame. I was glad that I was far enough away, because there's no way that I would have had the reflexes to dodge like Jamie and Gazimon did.  
  
I rushed over to Impmon before the smoke could clear over where Jamie and Gazimon were.  
  
"Whoah…"  
  
Impmon had used up enough of his energy to dedigivolve. I tried again.  
  
"Um, are you okay Yaamon?"  
  
He blinked, obviously feeling better now that there wasn't as much data to support directly.  
  
"Whadda ya mean, Yaa… whoah. Huh. Maybe I better get something' to eat, huh?"  
  
"Touching, but ultimately futile."  
  
We turned back to see Jamie there. Gazimon strode up beside him as he continued.  
  
"But still, an impressive display of power, especially in his weakened condition."  
  
He straightened, and locked eyes with Yaamon in my arms.  
  
"You'll never hear me say this again, so feel privileged. I was mistaken. You are most definitely not a toy. That kind of firepower, while no match for Gazimon and myself, naturally, is certainly worthy of a certain amount of limited respect."  
  
Then he turned and walked out, leaving Gazimon to say the final words.  
  
"We'll meet again. Bet on it."  
  
Then Gazimon was gone as well, leaving Impmon and myself confused.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Missss me?"  
  
I froze for a moment at the hissing voice behind me, before recognizing it as the elusive Mr. Shadow.  
  
"Oh. It's _you_. What do you want."  
  
"Are you keeping your end of the bargain little girl?"  
  
I shivered involuntarily, but answered.  
  
"Of course. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Because that inssssipid brother of yours misssssed a chance at one of the Tamerssss!"  
  
I spun to face a figure in the shadows. He never really allowed himself to be seen, which was why he had the name, lame as it was. He was intimidating, sure, but he had just set me off.  
  
_No one, and I mean no one, threatens Mica. Otenuski's stick together._  
  
"Mica has a digimon for self defense and companionship you jerk! _I_ made this deal, not him, so you leave him out of it, you hear me?!"  
  
All I received in response was a chuckle.  
  
"Very well, Mssss. Otenuski, but do try not to misssss any more chancessss like thissss, no?"  
  
Then he stepped back, fading into the darkness. I glared at where he had been, before turning around and heading home. The only place Mica would have had time to encounter another Tamer like that would have been while we were at the mall earlier, where Kokuwamon had been unable to enter without setting off every metal detector and magnetic protection device inside.  
  
I growled and walked down the street, managing the bags I had.  
  
"Are you sure you don't need any help with those?"  
  
I smiled a little at the voice in the shadows.  
  
"No, Kokuwamon, I'll be okay, it's not that far from home. You could open the door for me when I get there though."  
  
"Consider it done, Justen."  
  
There was a rustle of metal wings, and I knew that Kokuwamon would be waiting for me outside the apartment, where Mushroomon was supposedly keeping watch over Mica.  
  
The ride up the elevator was smooth, but it jerked to a stop, making me have to stop to pick up the groceries. But that was really a minor annoyance all things considered. Kokuwamon opened the door from the inside, and I entered, arms completely full.  
  
A few minutes later, I finished and tucked Mica in. Kokuwamon met me outside, a worried expression on his face. I frowned.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Well, I thought I was just getting a sensor glitch earlier, but upon talking with Mushroomon, I realize that this is an error."  
  
I tapped my foot impatiently. I was feeling a little tired myself.  
  
"Well, what was it."  
  
"I'm not entirely sure. It seems that something with a distorted digital presence was around here earlier. Something almost familiar… Mushroomon and I couldn't quite figure out what it was, but I know I've felt it before… somewhere…"  
  
I frowned.  
  
_This could be huge, or it could be nothing._  
  
I sighed.  
  
"Look. Tell Mushroomon not to say anything to Mica, and of course, Delia, but you come straight to me if you sense it again, okay? I don't want you wandering into an uncertain situation without me."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I understand Justen. Something about that familiar part really creeped me out though…"  
  
I smiled faintly and crossed the main room to check on Delia, peeking in the door softly. She was sleeping now, but she was tossing and turning.  
  
_Should I wake her up?_  
  
I stood there for a moment agonizing. In the end I decided not to, Delia got so little sleep as it was, even if the rest of the time she just went around like a zombie.  
  
"Good night, Delia. Get better soon."  
  
I went to my room and collapsed on the bed, clutching a pillow to me before I allowed the tears to pour down my face. With our father overseas at work, Delia was all the family we had. I whispered into the night, but I don't think anyone heard.  
  
"We need you Delia… please…" 


	4. The Other Side of the Coin

Chapter 2 - The Other Side of the Coin  
  
When I look at the other kids at school, I feel jealous. Just a little, but still. I don't have friends here, I'm too shy. I'm the quiet kid in the back corner, who has to be forced into groups for projects. The kid who is pretty much ignored.  
  
When the bell rang, I walked slowly out of class, heading home like always. Another thing that was like always was that Mushroomon was creeping along with me, making sure to stay hidden. But just one little thing wasn't like always though, when a digital field came in around us. I glanced around, looking for an exit.  
  
"Um, Mushroomon?"  
  
Mushroomon ran up beside me.  
  
"I hope you have your deck Mica. I don't think we're getting out of this one without a fight."  
  
I nodded and reached for my digivice. I don't like to fight as a general rule, but I know that there are some times that it's necessary.  
  
_That doesn't make it any easier to handle though._  
  
There was a howl from in front of me that made me a little nervous.  
  
_Okay Mica, calm down, you've seen Delia and Justen do this a few times. It can't be _that_ hard._  
  
A massive upright black wolf dressed in jeans with spikes on them leapt seemingly straight out of the ground. I held up my digivice with a shaking hand.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
BlackWereGarurumon  
Level: Ultimate  
Type: Virus  
Class: Beast  
  
Attacks:  
Shadow Claw  
Full Moon Kick  
  
This Werewolf doesn't play around. With his Shadow Claw and Full Moon Kick, he's a devastating opponent.  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"Um, Mushroomon, I think we might want to run…"  
  
He nodded in hurried agreement.  
  
"Definitely not a nice doggy to play with, Mica. We should come back when he's in a better mood."  
  
We turned to run, but BlackWereGarurumon was simply too fast. He was in front of us before we got two steps.  
  
"Uh oh…"  
  
Mushroomon got a determined look on his face.  
  
"FUNGUS CRUSHER!"  
  
He jumped up with his little fists and started wailing on BlackWereGarurumon, but to little effect, as the ultimate level digimon simply smacked him into the ground.  
  
"MUSHROOMON!!!"  
  
**Digivolution_**  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ordinarily I would use my home computer for something weird like this, but Mako had wanted to know now and the computer lab after school was the best I could do.  
  
"Okay, that _is_ weird."  
  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mako smirk a little. I only sighed. I deserved it - this time.  
  
_I mean, Mako's not the most computer literate person I've ever met, so he's wrong more often than not._  
  
Ai looked over my shoulder from the other side.  
  
"So what's wrong with it, Suzie?"  
  
I shrugged, trying to keep my head still for Lopmon's sake.  
  
"Well, that's the funny thing. Technically, the address is still accessible, but…"  
  
"But…?"  
  
I shrugged again.  
  
"There's simply no evidence that anything existed there. Ever."  
  
Mako blinked, then looked at Impmon and Ai.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
**Mushroomon Digvolve to… Woodmon!**  
  
I gazed up at where Woodmon faced down BlackWereGarurumon. I didn't really think that Woodmon could actually take down BlackWereGarururmon, but he might be enough to slow him down long enough to escape.  
  
"WOODY SMASHER!"  
  
I grinned, watching the branch sail directly at BlackWereGarurumon's head. But he simply caught the branch.  
  
"SHADOW CLAW!"  
  
BlackWereGarurumon's other hand came sweeping in, catching my struggling Woodmon by surprise. He fell back, dedigivolving as he went. I just stared in shock that Mushroomon had only lasted under minute as a champion before dedigivolving.  
  
_I knew we didn't have a chance against this guy, but still…_  
  
"PITFALL!"  
  
What I recognized as a Gazimon bounced off BlackWereGarurumon's head, landing beside me where I crouched over Mushroomon.  
  
"SHADOW CLAW!"  
  
A fist shot out and smacked Gazimon before he could move, sending him slamming into the brick wall behind us.  
  
"Damn."  
  
I saw a green haired guy over at the edge of the field, cursing, but reaching for his deck.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Recharge Activate!**  
  
"FULL MOON KICK!"  
  
I looked up, eyes wide as BlackWereGarurumon's foot came at us, tearing through the air.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Power Activate!**  
  
"HYPER CANNON!"  
  
The Tankmon's attack didn't do much damage, but the powered up blast was enough to knock BlackWereGarurumon back, deflecting the attack. I grinned as Justen hopped off the back of the Tankmon.  
  
"You alright Mica?"  
  
I nodded, and Mushroomon grinned weakly.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
BlackWereGarurumon rose up again, howling. His eyes narrowed and he roared again, rushing for us. Tankmon maneuvered in front of us.  
  
"MACHINE GUN ARMS!"  
  
Tankmon was trying, but BlackWereGarurumon was simply too fast, and closed anyways, dodging the bullets.  
  
Over by the edge, Gazimon was recovering as well. His tamer swiped a card.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!  
  
Digivolution_  
  
Gazimon digivolve to… Lynxmon!**  
  
I blinked and then looked at Justen's digivice as she analyzed it.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
Lynxmon  
Level: Armor  
Type: Vaccine  
Class: Animal  
  
Attacks:  
Thermal Mane  
Wild Nail Rush  
  
A blazing quick cat, this creature takes no prisoners with his lightning agility and burning attacks.  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
I blinked at the use of an armor level, but shrugged. Armors were pretty much a variable level. They could be nearly as weak as rookies or almost as powerful as ultimates depending on the individual.  
  
"WILD NAIL RUSH!"  
  
"SHADOW CLAW!"  
  
The two digimon collided, but surprisingly, Lynxmon was the faster of the two, and managed to evade BlackWereGarurumon's attack while planting his own. BlackWereGarurumon stumbled back from the blow.  
  
"HYPER CANNON!"  
  
Tankmon, this time dealing with a much more slowly moving target, hit again, slamming his target back with a howl of pain.  
  
"THERMAL MANE!"  
  
Lynxmon's enflamed fur flared higher as he plowed into BlackWereGarurumon, burning him severely. Tankmon kept him off balance as he tried to put the flames out.  
  
"MACHINE GUN ARM!"  
  
"WILD NAIL RUSH!"  
  
This time when Lynxmon's attack struck, he plowed right through BlackWereGarurumon, the latter bursting into data. Lynxmon took it without a second thought.  
  
The guy with Green hair strode over, and Justen nervously drew her short hair back behind her ear with a hand. She looked up at the guy.  
  
"Um, hi Jamie. Thanks for looking out for Mica here."  
  
Jamie looked between us.  
  
"Brother?"  
  
Justen nodded. Jamie nodded, mostly to himself.  
  
"I wouldn't call it saving him, but I don't stoop to picking on little kids either."  
  
My sister shrugged.  
  
"Well, whatever you call it, thanks. If my sister were here, she'd say it too."  
  
_If Delia had been here, with Keramon, we wouldn't have even needed the help._  
  
Jamie just shrugged, and Lynxmon dedigivolved. Surprising us all, even Jamie, by helping Mushroomon to his feet and over to me. I picked Mushroomon up and smiled at Gazimon.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Gazimon shrugged and didn't answer. Jamie arched an eyebrow at him, and Gazimon merely shrugged. Jamie 'hmphed' and left, walking off with his digimon partner in tow. Tankmon dedigivolved back to Kokuwamon as Justen turned to me.  
  
"What were you thinking taking on an ultimate like that? You could have been killed!"  
  
I shrugged myself.  
  
"It's not like we didn't try to get away. BlackWereGarurumon was just too fast. But you missed Mushroomon digivolving!"  
  
Justen smiled at me and ruffled my hair.  
  
"Come on, kid. Tell me on the way home."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"GAAAHH!"  
  
I groaned from my position on the bed.  
  
"What is it _this_ time, Impmon?"  
  
He grumbled.  
  
"I just can't believe I lost. Loosing to Megidramon is one thing. Loosing to a horde of Machinedramon is another. Those I can accept. But to a freakin' rookie?! It's simply unbelievable! I won't accept it! Never, you hear me, never! GAAAH!"  
  
I rolled my eyes.  
  
"Well, blame it on both me and your lack of experience fighting."  
  
Impmon eyed me.  
  
"Whadda ya mean by that? I fight all the time!"  
  
I sighed.  
  
"Yeah, but not really in your rookie form. You fought in your mega all the time before. And I remember certain digimon getting their butts kicked all the time when they were rookies."  
  
Impmon grumbled, but didn't say anything. It was as close to 'you're right' as I was going to get.  
  
"Besides, you're really strong. I bet you'll start digivolving on your own in no time. You probably just need a little shove in the right direction."  
  
He grinned at me. I was relieved to finally see it. It meant that he was getting over it.  
  
"Yeah, you're right. I'll be big as life Beezlemon in no time flat. Then we'll see who the better fighter is, right?"  
  
I smiled some more.  
  
"Yeah. No time flat."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I glanced over at Doroon as he looked around.  
  
"So, Ai, um, where's Mako?"  
  
I shrugged.  
  
"He and Impmon went looking for more wild ones to fight. They seem to think that Impmon's on the verge of digivolving."  
  
Doroon looked a little startled.  
  
"And you're… not with them?"  
  
I sighed, and turned to look at him.  
  
"Look, don't tell Mako that I said this, okay? He'd completely flip out and make assumptions trying to fix it."  
  
He blinked.  
  
"Fix what?"  
  
I glared in response.  
  
"I said promise. Promise me Doroon."  
  
He looked at me a little funny.  
  
"If Mako finds out I'm keeping something from him, I'm dead."  
  
I shot him a dirty look, and he continued.  
  
"But I promise anyways."  
  
I nodded.  
  
"This isn't really easy to say or anything, so I'm just going to come out with it."  
  
He nodded, and gestured for me to continue.  
  
"I just… I feel like I'm not fitting in that well."  
  
Doroon blinked again. He does that when he's surprised.  
  
"You're… not?"  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"Impmon and Mako are great, and it's not like they're excluding me intentionally, but… it just seems like I'm not keeping up, you know? Before, I chose the cards, and Mako swiped them. But since Impmon lost his power, Mako's taken to carrying his playing deck around just in case. And…"  
  
Doroon's voice was soft and concerned.  
  
"What?"  
  
"And… Mako's getting better. The cards come faster when it's just one person, you know. It's more efficient. And since I realized that, I kind of realized that I was holding them back. Maybe Impmon wouldn't have lost his power if I had been faster, or if it had just been Mako from the beginning… Oh, I don't know. I still want to help, you know? I don't want to be left behind while Mako runs off and has all the fun, but I don't want to hold them back anymore either. I just… oh, who knows. I bet I sound silly, don't I?"  
  
Doroon shook his head.  
  
"I don't think you sound silly at all. I mean, it's natural. When I met Impmon and heard about you guys facing down wild digimon, I kind of thought that I couldn't be a part of that. I wanted to help too. I still do. I haven't found a way yet, but I keep looking for one. I make up excuses for people as to why he's gone, but that seems a little silly too."  
  
"No more silly than feeling like you're being left behind."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so."  
  
We sat there, on the floor of my room, for a while, just soaking in the silence. Then I looked over at him.  
  
"Hey Doroon?"  
  
"Yeah, Ai?"  
  
"Promise me something else?"  
  
"Hmmm. I suppose. What is it?"  
  
"Promise me, that no matter what happens with Impmon and Mako, the other digimon, or whatever, that we'll always stick together. Be friends forever."  
  
He looked over at me and smiled warmly.  
  
"Yeah Ai, I can promise that. No matter what happens from here on, we'll always be friends. I promise."  
  
I smiled at him.  
  
"Thanks Doroon. I needed to hear that."  
  
Mako walked in a while later, grinning from ear to ear. When Impmon wasn't following him, I got suspicious.  
  
"Mako, where's Impmon?"  
  
Mako smiled innocently.  
  
"Impmon? Who's Impmon?"  
  
My eyes narrowed.  
  
"Our digimon, you fool."  
  
He grinned.  
  
"Oh, you must mean…"  
  
Then, a red, winged three-foot demon with a pitchfork flew in the door. I screamed, and Mako's grin got wider as I realized I had been set up.  
  
"Boogeymon!" 


	5. Anger Management

Chapter 3 - Anger Management  
  
_Why does that girl keep staring at me?!_  
  
This girl in the back of the class, Justen… something, I couldn't remember what, kept boring holes into the back of my head with her eyes.  
  
And it was really irritating me that I didn't know what I'd done to deserve it. I mean, it's not like I had Impmon for a partner or anything, Lopmon was usually completely innocent. I was grateful when the bell rang, and I was able to get out of there. But the eyes followed me.  
  
_And it's really getting on my nerves…_  
  
I sighed and kept going, until I got outside, and I could still feel her eyes on me. I turned.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Why do you keep staring at me?"  
  
She laughed.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know…"  
  
She passed me by then, slamming into me rudely as she did so. I stumbled back a bit, but kept my balance.  
  
_Some people…  
  
Still… I really wonder why she was doing that. What did I ever do to her?_  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"BADA BOOM!"  
  
The Stegomon gave a final roar before exploding into data for Impmon to load. Impmon just let it float off though, and grumbled a bit.  
  
"Geeze. Isn't there any decent data around here?"  
  
I grinned.  
  
"Maybe the word's getting out."  
  
He snorted.  
  
"Yeah right, Mako. But seriously, only really stupid digimon have come through lately."  
  
"That explains a lot."  
  
We both spun around. My eyes narrowed.  
  
_Jamie…_  
  
"What do you want, Jamie?"  
  
He frowned.  
  
"I heard this ridiculous rumor that Impmon there was strong. Humph. What a joke."  
  
My eyes blazed along with Impmon's.  
  
"Of course Impmon is powerful. Why don't you try taking us on again, Jamie?"  
  
His eyes narrowed.  
  
"Fine. Gazimon?"  
  
The rabbit digimon strolled out of the shadows.  
  
"PITFALL!"  
  
"BADA BOOM!"  
  
Gazimon may have been aiming for Impmon, but Impmon aimed down at his feet, the small blasts causing a dust cloud, which he sprinted into. Gazimon looked confused, as his feet hit the pavement with a loud crunch.  
  
"INFERNO FUNNEL!"  
  
The high-powered attack took Gazimon by surprise, straight into his back, sending him to the ground. But he was back up in a flash, and ready to attack as the cloud faded… But Impmon was nowhere in sight. I grinned as Jamie swore.  
  
"Is your Impmon done playing these childish games?"  
  
I just kept smiling.  
  
"BADA BOOM!"  
  
Gazimon spun, taking the hit, and sending his attack back.  
  
"ELECTRIC STUN BLAST!"  
  
Impmon came out then, looking a little singed around the edges, but otherwise fine.  
  
"BADA BOOM!"  
  
Gazimon quickly leapt to the side, dodging the shots, then launched his own attack.  
  
"PITFALL!"  
  
Gazimon leapt high. But rather than use the same tactic twice, Impmon stood his ground, waiting for the right moment. The moment Gazimon was at the apex of his jump.  
  
"INFERNO FUNNEL!"  
  
Almost completely unprepared, the force of the blow threw Gazimon higher into the air, slamming him against the side of a building. He came down hard. Jamie looked pissed, then slashed a card.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!  
  
Digivolution_  
  
Gazimon digivolve to… Lynxmon!**  
  
Impmon's eyes grew wide, and he uttered what I was thinking.  
  
"Oh no…"  
  
"WILD NAIL RUSH!"  
  
The attack tore into Impmon leaving him battered on the ground. I drew my own digivolution card.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!  
  
Impmon digivolve to… Boogeymon!**  
  
I grinned at Jamie, who was a little shocked.  
  
"All right, let's do this."  
  
"THERMAL MANE!"  
  
Boogeymon flew above the attack, and countered.  
  
"RUBY EYE!"  
  
The optic blasts shot out, but Lynxmon was too fast, and they harmlessly struck the pavement.  
  
"WILD NAIL RUSH!"  
  
Lynxmon's leaping assault, however, was just as effective, as Boogeymon was simply able to drift to the side. He waited for Lynxmon to be right below him.  
  
"DEATH CRASH!"  
  
Swooping down, Boogeymon drove his pitchfork into Lynxmon, adding to the force of the fall, before finally averting back to the sky just a fraction of a second before Lynxmon hit the ground hard.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I frowned, and stared at the screen once more. I still didn't understand how there could be absolutely no signs that the site had ever been there. I sighed.  
  
_Henry would have figured out _something_ by now._  
  
I pushed myself away from my computer and headed out into the living room, and collapsed on the couch. Lopmon came over and sat in my lap without words. I smiled and gave her a brief hug. Then I heard a key scratching at the door. I panicked a little and sighed in relief when dad stuck his head in. He grinned.  
  
"Hi! How's my little munchkin?"  
  
I groaned and rolled my eyes.  
  
"Fine, Dad. Just frustrated, that's all."  
  
He came over and sat next to us, giving Lopmon a nod.  
  
"That's good. School going okay?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
"If this other girl would stop starring at me and being generally creepy, it would have been just like any other day."  
  
"Why does she keep staring at you?"  
  
I shrugged.  
  
"Not sure really."  
  
Dad smiled.  
  
"Well, you'll figure it our. You're a smart girl, just like your brother."  
  
I let myself collapse back into the couch.  
  
"_Henry_ would have figured it out by now."  
  
Dad frowned.  
  
"Suzie… I know you think highly of your brother, and it's really great to see you two getting along without bickering, but even he would have trouble with some of this. He's not perfect."  
  
Lopmon smiled.  
  
"Your father's right, Suzie. You're holding yourself to too high a standard. I agree that Henry probably is better than you in some ways, but he's had a lot more experience too. You're not as good as he is yet, but you will be. You're doing your best, and that's all there is to it!"  
  
I gave Lopmon another small hug.  
  
"Thanks you guys. I'm feeling a bit better now."  
  
Dad smiled, and draped his arm over my shoulders.  
  
"Good. Now show your old man around, being sure to note how much food is in the refrigerator, so that your mother doesn't kill him."  
  
I laughed and began to show dad around, just so he could make sure there was nothing wrong.  
  
_I'm actually kinda surprised that Mom isn't banging the door down._  
  
Dad and I talked some more after a while, and he promised to look into the website as well, thinking that Mr. Yamaki would probably be interested if he had time. After a bit, he left, and I sat back down on the couch, wondering just what I should do.  
  
_Hmmm… Well, I can't solve the website thing today, I've done everything that I can._  
  
The angered face of a black haired girl flashed before my eyes and I suddenly remembered.  
  
_Otenuski! Her last name is Otenuski!_  
  
I frowned. Now the problem was how to find her. My answers wouldn't come from any other source.  
  
_Maybe…_  
  
My eyes brightened.  
  
"Lopmon, come on, we're going out!"  
  
Lopmon hurried into the room.  
  
"Where are we going Suzie?"  
  
I smiled grimly.  
  
"Back to school. There's something I want to check out."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"WILD NAIL RUSH!"  
  
I smirked as Lynxmon's attack hit head on. It wasn't enough to finish Mako's Boogeymon, but it was enough to seriously damage him.  
  
_Uggh. This is getting embarrassing. Not to mention boring. I should finish this fast._  
  
I looked down, and pulled a card. It was a shame to use such a thing against someone like Mako, but style was a secondary consideration to results. I smirked again when I found the right card.  
  
_Perfect…_  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Gargoylemon's Statue Bomber Activate!**  
  
I looked over to see Mako grin back, a wild gleam in his eyes as he finished his card slash.  
  
_What the?! I missed it! What card did he swipe?_  
  
"STATUE BOMBER!"  
  
The statue came crashing down on top of Boogeymon, but he raised his left hand straight above his head…  
  
"ENERGY CANNON!"  
  
Boogeymon's arm changed, and blasted the statue out of the air, sending the shrapnel flying. Mako flashed the card at me.  
  
_Gorillamon…_  
  
I had to admit that that impressed me… just a little. But his next move surprised me a lot more.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Seadramon's Ice Blast Activate!**  
  
This was a serious problem. That attack could do serious damage to Lynxmon.  
  
"RUBY EYE!"  
  
I blinked.  
  
_He didn't use it?_  
  
Then I saw it. Lynxmon froze, letting the attack hit right in front of him. I yelled.  
  
"MOVE!"  
  
But it was too little too late.  
  
"ICE BLAST!"  
  
Lynxmon couldn't move fast enough, and the attack smashed into him, knocking him back and forcing his flame down. He seemed to… fizzle… for a moment, then dedigivolved. My eyes widened.  
  
"This… this can't be happening…"  
  
Boogeymon landed then, breathing heavily and scorched around the edges, but certainly in much better shape than Gazimon. I growled.  
  
"Fine. Finish it."  
  
Boogeymon dedigivolved instead. He heaved Gazimon over his shoulder and dumped him at my feet.  
  
"No."  
  
I looked out at them, where Impmon was retreating back to Mako, who was digging through his deck, probably for a recharge card or something.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Impmon looked back.  
  
"I don't delete digimon who aren't evil. You're obsessed with power, but you're not evil."  
  
He smirked and continued back on his way as Mako slashed the card. He stopped, just before he reached Mako, and spoke without turning around.  
  
"You guys remind me of me a few years ago. Don't make the same mistakes I did."  
  
He and Mako left without another word.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I looked up at a knock on my door. Mako stood there smiling.  
  
"Hey, sis. Here's the deck back. You should have come with us today! It was great! We beat Jamie!"  
  
I put the book down as I Mako put the battle deck on the table. I arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Mr. Boo-Hoo-I'm-So-Pathetic actually beat him?"  
  
Mako rolled his eyes.  
  
"While I don't agree with _everything_ you said, that's about the gist of it, yeah. You really should have been there. We probably would have beaten him faster."  
  
I smiled a little.  
  
"Thanks Mako, but I _did_ have homework you know."  
  
Mako's face whitened.  
  
"I knew I was forgetting something."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Justen…"  
  
I stopped for a moment, then resumed walking.  
  
"What is it Kokuwamon?"  
  
"My scanners have picked up a digimon. It's close."  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Lead the way."  
  
Kokuwamon flew out from the shadows to my left, and then flew back into them, motioning for me to follow. He led me through the alley, and into a small park. Conveniently deserted.  
  
_Well, except for _her_._   
Suzie Wong was walking across the park, wearing her Lopmon like a hat on her head. She stopped when she saw me, eyes widening at the sight of Kokuwamon. Lopmon jumped from her head as she started talking.  
  
"Justen… just who I was looking for. I want to know what I did to you. Why do you hate me?"  
  
I growled.  
  
"First thing's first. How'd you find me?"  
  
She blinked, then answered.  
  
"I looked up your phone number in the school directory, then matched the number to an address in an online city directory. Now, what did I do? I've been wracking my brains all day, and I can't figure it out!"  
  
Suzie was getting annoyed, and I was getting angrier by the second. I looked at the ground and whispered something. Suzie looked at me funny.  
  
"What was that? I didn't hear it."  
  
My head snapped up, and my eyes blazed. My voice was a roar now.  
  
"YOU TOOK HER FROM US! YOU TOOK HER FROM US AND NOW YOU WILL PAY!"  
  
I grabbed my D-Ark and deck, wrenching the right card from, barely looking to make sure it was the right one before slashing.  
  
DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!  
  
Digivolution_  
  
Kokuwamon Digivolve to… Tankmon!  
  
"HYPER CANNON!"  
  
Suzie and Lopmon just stood there like deer in the headlights as the attack moved in for them. 


	6. Ryuujin

Chapter 4 -Ryuujin  
  
I stared in shock at Justen's sudden attack. Fortunately, Lopmon wasn't quite as frozen, as she managed to shove me to the ground, letting the attack pass safely over us. I scrambled up and behind a tree, drawing my digivolution card when I got there.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!  
  
Digivolution_  
  
Lopmon Digivolve to… Turuiemon!**  
  
Tankmon wasn't waiting though, and fired off another attack.  
  
"MACHINE GUN ARMS!"  
  
Turuiemon jumped to the side and used her superior speed to rush in close.  
  
"GAUNTLET CLAW!"  
  
Tankmon was dazed by the blow, but his high armor rating made for little damage from Turuiemon's attack.  
  
"HYPER CANNON!"  
  
Turuiemon did a simple back flip, letting the blast pass by harmlessly. She dropped to the ground, then leapt to the side suddenly as Tankmon's treads roared to life and he squealed forwards. As Tankmon turned to attempt another pass, Turuiemon struck.  
  
"LIGHTNING KUNG FU!"  
  
Turuiemon's attack, but did little damage, just as before. With one exception. Tankmon was in the middle of his turn, so the attack overbalanced him, and he wobbled precariously, almost tipping over.  
  
"GAUNTLET CLAW!"  
  
Turuiemon leapt forward, hoping to put Tankmon on his side and leave him virtually helpless, but at that moment, a huge gust of wind blew in, knocking Tankmon back onto his treads, and throwing Turuiemon back.  
  
There was a deafening roar.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I was playing a video game with Mushroomon when suddenly he stiffened and stopped playing. He didn't say anything, just got up and went to the window.  
  
"What is it Mushroomon?"  
  
He turned around looking a little frightened.  
  
"It's big trouble. And it's headed right towards Tankmon!"  
  
_Oh no… Justen!_  
  
"We better get down there Mushroomon. Justen might need our help."  
  
He looked nervous.  
  
"I dunno, Mica… why don't we stay here and play instead. I'm sure Justen and Tankmon will do just fine. They'll be back, just like always."  
  
For a moment, I almost went and sat back down. But Delia's open door caught my eye. My jaw dropped.  
  
_Delia's gone!_  
  
"Mushroomon, we're leaving. We have to go find Justen and help her, so that she can help us find Delia, okay?"  
  
Mushroomon also looked in.  
  
"But… but… I… didn't even see her leave!"  
  
"Later. We need Justen."  
  
"Right!"  
  
I put my coat on, and we left, Mushroomon trying to find Tankmon for us.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I ran down the street, barely keeping pace with Impmon, who was moving through the trees. Usually, after a fight like the one we'd had with Jamie we'd be ready to call it quits for the day.  
  
Usually.  
  
But today we were on our way home when Impmon picked up on something.  
  
"You sure about this Impmon?"  
  
"Positive. This time we'll get him, don't worry."  
  
I frowned.  
  
"You couldn't take this guy as Beezlemon, and you're trying to tell me you're going to stop him as Boogeymon?"  
  
He grumbled, but he kept running, and I kept chasing him.  
  
"Look, Mako. He's down there, and chances are he's not here to sample the roasted chestnuts! We need to take him down."  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Right. I was just thinking we might need a plan, you think?"  
  
"Did you call Ai? She's better than you at that sort of thing."  
  
"Not without a location. Even I'm not stupid enough to just say 'find us'! He's still moving, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but he's heading for Lopmon and someone else I don't recognize, so at least someone with a brain'll be there."  
  
"HEY!"  
  
Then I grinned.  
  
"You do know you just insulted yourself right?"  
  
Impmon jumped out of the trees when they ended, and started running on the sidewalk.  
  
"Mako, I'm not stupid, but I am willing to admit she's smarter than I am."  
  
I rolled my eyes and then had to stop quickly, almost crashing into Impmon when he skidded to a halt.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Smaller digimon around the corner."  
  
Right as he said that, a small digimon came around the corner and crashed into him, followed by a small boy with bowl-cut black hair. The kid looked up.  
  
"Sorry. I…"  
  
His eyes rested on Impmon, and he scrambled backwards. I took a step forward before Impmon could say anything. My digimon or not, I really think he sucks at first impressions.  
  
"You okay, kid?"  
  
He nodded, but stayed quite. His digimon, a Mushroomon, I realized, spoke up.  
  
"Um, listen, sorry about this, but we're trying to get to his sister, and there's this other digimon around her that seems really dangerous."  
  
I grinned.  
  
"Well, why don't we go together then? I'm pretty sure we're after the same guy."  
  
The little mushroomoid looked hesitant. His partner spoke up though.  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
I grinned.  
  
"I'm Mako. Come on, try to keep up. We have to get there before something really bad happens."  
  
He nodded, and we went off, admittedly at a slower pace because of our new companions, but at least we were moving again. The kid put on a slight burst of speed, and managed to catch up to me.  
  
"I'm Mica."  
  
"Nice to meet you…"  
  
Impmon yelled back.  
  
"Save it Mako! He's just through those trees!"  
  
I nodded, and there was a sudden roar.  
  
"Let's go Mica."  
  
"Right. Come on Mushroomon."  
  
We drew and swiped our cards before charging in.  
  
Mako/Mica: **DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!  
  
Digivolution_  
  
Impmon Digivolve to… Boogeymon!  
  
Mushroomon Digivolve to… Woodmon!**  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A large dragon with purple armor, complete with yellow lightning bolt décor landed with the roar. My eyes widened.  
  
_Crap. That must be DeaxDoruGoramon. Talk about the one that got away…_  
  
"RUBY EYE!"  
  
A sudden attack from the treeline caught my eye. I breathed a sigh of relief as Boogeymon came swooping him. Unfortunately, the attack didn't do anything to the mega-leveled digimon. Mako grinned, coming through the trees with a kid and his Woodmon, who went over to Justen. Mako grinned.  
  
"Sorry we're late, Suzie."  
  
I smiled a little, but refocused on DeaxDoruGoramon.  
  
"METAL IMPULSE!"  
  
The undead dragon shot forward, but fortunately for us, missed. Mako didn't look happy.  
  
"You have any ideas on how to beat this guy, Suzie?"  
  
I just glared.  
  
"We have four champions. He's a mega. The only 'plan' is to run for it."  
  
"Not an option. Anything else?"  
  
"Nothing off-hand. I'm not my brother."  
  
He frowned.  
  
"I'm aware that you're not-"  
  
"TANKMON! IGNORE THAT… THING… AND RESUME THE ATTACK! NOW!"  
  
_Oh boy…_  
  
"HYPER CANNON!"  
  
"Turuiemon!"  
  
Turuiemon had been in mid leap to avoid a swipe of DeaxDoruGoramon's claws, and was hit dead on.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Woodmon and I dashed over to Justen while Mako went over to the other girl. Justen hissed at us.  
  
"What are you two doing out here?! Woodmon, I thought I told you to keep him _away_ from danger, not encourage him to rush right into it!"  
  
I tired to answer.  
  
"But-"  
  
"And not only that, you're with one of those… they hurt Delia! Are you nuts?"  
  
I hadn't known that at the time, but Mako seemed like a nice enough guy.  
  
"Justen-"  
  
"Later. TANKMON! IGNORE THAT… THING… AND RESUME THE ATTACK! NOW!"  
  
"Justen… Delia's…"  
  
"Not now!"  
  
"HYPER CANNON!"  
  
I looked up at Justen, and suddenly I was afraid of her.  
  
_I don't want those guys to get away with what they did to Delia but… somethings are more important. Like making sure Delia's okay. And making sure we're okay._  
  
"WILD NAIL RUSH!"  
  
I looked up at the fight again, and saw Lynxmon rebound off of the dragon's head, but he didn't do any damage as his Tamer ran onto the scene. Tankmon was still going after Turuiemon.  
  
"MACHINE GUN ARMS!"  
  
I looked up at Woodmon as Turuiemon dodged this time.  
  
_I wish I were strong enough to stop this…_  
  
There was a sudden glow from my pocket. I looked in, and one of my cards was glowing a bold, bright, blue.  
  
_Maybe this can help…_  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Matrix Digivolution Activate!  
  
Matrix  
Digivolution_  
  
Woodmon Matrix Digivolve to… Cherrymon!**  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I put down the phone from telling Ai where we were, and I looked over to where Mica and Justen were at the bright light. Then I saw the ultimate level Cherrymon slowly get into position.  
  
"PIT PELTER!"  
  
"Of course…"  
  
I looked over. Suzie was smacking her head.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Blue cards!"  
  
_D'oh._  
  
"We're idiots. Oh well. Let's give it a shot."  
  
_I need a miracle. I need to defend my friends._  
  
The card in my hand started glowing blue, and a similar light shined from where Suzie was holding hers. I grinned at her.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
"Right."  
  
Mako/Suzie: **DIGI-MODIFY! Matrix Digivolution Activate!  
  
Matrix  
Digivolution_  
  
Boogeymon Matrix Digivolve to… Phelesmon!  
  
Turuiemon Matrix Digivolve to… Antlyamon!**  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I looked in shock as Mako and the girl's digimon were also covered in cocoons of light, and emerged as ultimates.  
  
_How are they doing it?_  
  
"DEMON'S SHOUT!"  
  
"ARM BOMBER!"  
  
"PIT PELTER!"  
  
This time the attacks actually had effect. Lynxmon landed beside me, crouching.  
  
"Lynxmon, do you know how they did it?"  
  
He shook his head, causing his mane of fire to dance menacingly.  
  
"I saw only a glowing card… then… 'poof'. The cards stopped glowing after they were slashed."  
  
_Damn it._  
  
"We need that power Lynxmon."  
  
"I know. We could ask, I suppose…"  
  
"No. We'll figure it out. We can do anything he can."  
  
Lynxmon nodded.  
  
"It'll just take some time, that's all."  
  
DeaxDoruGoramon roared and pitched back under the assault, but he was far from finished. Lynxmon looked up at me.  
  
"Do you want me to go back in?"  
  
I snorted.  
  
"And do what? Get killed? No. We'll just watch for now."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
_What? How dare he?_  
  
I glared over at Mica.  
  
"Mica! You're supposed to help me destroy them, not help them win!"  
  
He turned back. Tears were in his eyes.  
  
"I… I don't…"  
  
I growled, and he flinched. I was too angry to notice.  
  
"I… I don't want to be like you. I don't like hating people. You… you don't even care that Delia's missing! That's why I came down here! She wasn't in her room! She wasn't in the apartment, and I needed your help, but you're too busy hating people to worry about our family anymore!"  
  
The tears were flowing freely down his cheeks now.  
  
"M-Mica…"  
  
I looked out over the battle. I looked at Phelesmon and Antlyamon, who were distracting the virtually mindless beast so that it couldn't take advantage of Cherrymon's extremely slow speed. I watched as Antlyamon shoved Tankmon over before jumping to avoid DeaxDoruGoramon's attack.  
  
Tankmon dedigivolved to Kokuwamon and started flying woozily flying back towards me. But it was better than him dying.  
  
Then I realized that Mica was right.  
  
_What have I done?_  
  
Then I broke down and started crying myself.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
There were huge bursts of light coming from the park as I got to it.  
  
_At least it means they're still fighting…_  
  
Personally, I didn't like the odds. Several champions on a mega? Not good.  
  
_I really hope they're okay._  
  
I rushed through the trees, and found myself facing DeaxDoruGoramon's back. Directly across from where Mako and Suzie waited. Off to my left was Jamie, and what could only be Lynxmon next to him. Off to my right were a couple of people I didn't recognize. Well, I thought I recognized the girl from school, but didn't know her well.  
  
"DORUDIN!"  
  
The monstrous dragon let out his breath attack, making Phelesmon and Antlyamon scatter for cover. The attack hit the Cherrymon, though, and it dedigivolved.  
  
"MUSHROOMON!"  
  
A kid screamed out for his digimon, but was held back by a Kokuwamon. DeaxDoruGoramon swung around at the noise, but caught sight of me then.  
  
_Oh boy…_  
  
"BLACK STATUE!"  
  
"ARM BOMBER!"  
  
He closed on me then, ignoring the attack to his back, and moving his head slightly to avoid the dropping statue, which shattered when it hit the ground. One of the pieces hit me in the stomach, knocking over.  
  
"Um… nice… dragon…"  
  
The dragon blinked, and then reared back and roared, before suddenly blasted off into the night, leaving all of us shocked. The others slowly got out of their hiding places. Mako spoke for us all I think.  
  
"What the heck just happened here?!" 


	7. Search Parties

Chapter 5 - Search Parties  
  
I looked around at the others, even Jamie was coming forward from where he and Lynxmon were.  
  
"Okay, I'll ask again. What just happened? He _had_ us. I'm willing to admit that we were loosing. So why did he run off?"  
  
"Umm…"  
  
I looked over at Ai. Maybe she had some explanation for this.  
  
"Well, can we just… forget about this for now? I mean, he's gone now, right? Let's worry about it another time."  
  
I sighed. Then I glanced around.  
  
"Anyone else have _any_ idea what just happened?"  
  
The others shook their heads, even Mica's sister, who looked to be in the middle of a crying fit. Since I wasn't getting anything out of them, I just nodded to Ai, and let the matter drop. Mica looked up at me.  
  
"Umm… Mako?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Umm, can you help me look for my sister?"  
  
I frowned.  
  
"Isn't that her?"  
  
Mica shook his head.  
  
"No, I mean my _other_ sister. I came looking for Justen because Delia's gone, and, well… I don't think Justen is…"  
  
Suzie had a weird look on her face as he groped for words, probably trying for something inoffensive, but Justen cut him off.  
  
"No. I-I'm okay."  
  
She looked up, and looked at Ai, Suzie, and me with apprehension before speaking again, a little more confidently this time.  
  
"Mica, I'm going to help look for her. The rest of you… this isn't your problem. We can handle this."  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"No way. I'm not sure what your deal with Suzie is, but you need more than just the two of you out looking, especially with you in your condition, and Mushroomon barely able to walk. You'd be practically defenseless. Let's not forget that DeaxDoruGoramon isn't the only wild one out there."  
  
Justen looked like she was going to refuse, then slumped her shoulders.  
  
"Fine. Do what you want."  
  
Ai took charge then.  
  
"Okay. Do you have any pictures of her or anything? Any distinguishing marks?"  
  
Justen shook her head.  
  
"No… but she's got black hair and green eyes, like Mica."  
  
Ai bit her lip.  
  
"Well, that could describe a lot of people. The fastest way is usually splitting up, but since we can only go by recognition, that pretty much defeats that."  
  
Mica shook his head.  
  
"No. You have Justen _and_ me. We can spit up. You guys can help."  
  
Justen looked a little panicked.  
  
"No! Mica, you can't-"  
  
"I can't what? Justen… Delia's gone. And she needs us. We need all the help we can get. And two groups are better than one."  
  
_Now I remember where I'd heard that name before. Delia Otenuski, huh? Well, that explains a few things. I bet that's what Suzie was thinking earlier._  
  
Justen propped herself up a little more, and nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Listen. We'll meet back at the apartment in an hour, okay?"  
  
Mica nodded.  
  
Ai smiled.  
  
"Well, why don't you go with Su-"  
  
Suzie butted in.  
  
"No. I'd like to go with Justen. We have some things to talk about."  
  
Ai and I both looked at her a little strangely, but let it go.  
  
"Okay, then Mako and I will go with Mica. Jamie-"  
  
"Leave me out of this. I'm going home."  
  
We all just looked at him. He glared back.  
  
"You guys may be all buddy-buddy now, but that doesn't mean that I have to be. See ya."  
  
And then he walked off.  
  
"Okay, forget that jerk. Suzie, will you and Justen be okay by yourselves?  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure."  
  
I grinned.  
  
"Okay, let's go."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I walked with Justen down the sidewalk of a surprisingly busy street for the waning daylight, Lopmon back on my head, and Kokuwamon back in the shadows.  
  
"When you first… attacked… me today, you were yelling something about a 'her'. Was that Delia?"  
  
She nodded slowly, and for a time there was silence as we walked.  
  
"Yes… I just… do you remember what happened about year ago?"  
  
I nodded slowly.  
  
"Well, yes and no. I wasn't really involved… I just heard about it from Henry. He wouldn't let me fight. But I remember him talking about a Delia with an Armageddemon."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"That was our sister… and… she was taken from us!"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
She swallowed, trying to keep herself under control.  
  
"After that last battle… Delia wasn't the same anymore. Mom's dead… Dad works on some deep sea research lab in the middle of no where… She was all we had to take care of us… and…"  
  
She stopped talking then, and we walked in silence for a bit, eyes constantly peeled for any signs of Delia. After a while she started up again.  
  
"Delia was always the strong one. She took care of us. It's not that I don't care about Mica, I do, but we haven't been exactly… close… before this. I did my thing, he did his, and Delia made sure that we were all okay. It was good, but then… She wasn't the same. She barely comes out of her room to eat anymore. She doesn't talk to us. I have to do everything now. And I can't… I need her. I can't do this much longer."  
  
We passed an alley, and a voice spoke out of it suddenly.  
  
"Consorting with the enemy are we, my dear?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ai, Mica and I walked in silence for a bit, down by the river, where some of the docks were. It's hard to know what to say to a kid when you're helping him look for a missing sister. I glanced over at Ai, who was fiddling with her pigtails.  
  
_Not sure what I'd do if Ai went missing. Drive everyone nuts looking for her probably._  
  
Ai spoke up.  
  
"Do you know why Justen was fighting Suzie, Mica?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Since the fight last year, Delia's been different. She doesn't eat much, and she doesn't talk to us. She just sleeps and stares at her digivice. Justen says it's your guy's friend's fault."  
  
I frowned.  
  
"Then why take it out on us?"  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"I'm not sure… but I know that Delia was hurt fighting the guy with the dragon digimon, but I'm not sure why she wants to hurt _you_. I just know she does."  
  
I sighed.  
  
_This isn't going to be easy…_  
  
"Mica, do you know why Delia was fighting?"  
  
He frowned.  
  
"No… I…"  
  
He looked like he was going to cry again. We stopped by some guys unloading a boat and Ai knelt down next to him.  
  
"Hey, what's the matter?"  
  
He looked up at her.  
  
"Delia was doing something wrong, wasn't she?"  
  
I closed my eyes.  
  
_Great, what do I say to that?_  
  
"It wasn't her fault kid. No totally, anyways."  
  
We looked up. One of the dock workers had stopped working for a moment. He had curly dark brown hair, and was big. Like you'd expect from a weight lifter. Mica looked up at him, then his eyes widened. The guy spoke again.  
  
"Been a while, hasn't it Mica?"  
  
Mica nodded a little.  
  
"Yeah…"  
  
Ai and I looked up at him, obviously expecting an explanation. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.  
  
"If you know about Delia, then you obviously know about me."  
  
Ai's eyes widened.  
  
"You're Dirk!"  
  
He nodded, but readjusted his attention to Mica.  
  
"Mica, we did some bad things out there. _We_ started it. Because we were stupid enough to believe the empty promises of a madman."  
  
Mica was confused.  
  
"So, why wasn't it all her fault?"  
  
He grumbled, probably suppressing some bad words.  
  
"You ever watch the series?"  
  
Mica nodded.  
  
"Yeah… why?"  
  
"Well, the three of us, Alicia, your sister, and I, were implanted with Dark Spores."  
  
Mica's eyes grew wide like saucers.  
  
"Really? But… why…?"  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"Like I said, we were stupid. Listen. That Takato, he did us a favor. We don't have them in anymore, and that's a good thing, no matter what happened."  
  
"HEY! BACK TO WORK!"  
  
He sighed.  
  
"Looks like my break's over. Keep looking for her, you hear?"  
  
Mica nodded, looking a little better.  
  
"I will! Thanks!"  
  
Dirk waved as he went back.  
  
_Heh. One of them's changed at least…_  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
_Oh no…_  
  
That was the first thing that crossed my mind at hearing Mr. Shadow's voice come out of the alleyway.  
  
"I-I… well…"  
  
He seemed a little impatient.  
  
"I'm waiting. I didn't give you a digimon just to let you let the prey get away."  
  
_Give? Prey?_  
  
I closed my eyes, fists shaking as I let it sink in.  
  
_He… He… _used_ me! He used me!_   
Through my anger-distorted haze, two things came to me. How friendly the girl next to me was, how unlikely it would be for someone like that to do something like that to anyone, even Delia, and the look on Mica's face when I was fighting them.  
  
_The look on his face when he was… scared of me…_  
  
"I'm still waiting…"  
  
"No. No more hate. Mica's right. This isn't getting us anywhere. No more."  
  
He sighed.  
  
"Why is it _so_ hard to find good help these days? Well, no matter. At least I have _one_ loyal servant here. Kokuwamon, kill her."  
  
Kokuwamon floated out on metal wings and stopped in front of me. A glance out of the corner of my eye told me Suzie was still in shock. Lopmon was worn out anyways.  
  
_No help from that corner._  
  
Kokuwamon looked up at me with his shiny brown eyes… Then turned around.  
  
"What's wrong?! I revitalized you. You should have no problems with the rabbit in her current condition. Kill them!"  
  
"No. I won't."  
  
There was a growl from Mr. Shadow.  
  
"You what? How dare you! Who rescued you from that pitiful wretch of a prison?! You are _my_ servant! Then, now, and forever!"  
  
The metallic beetle narrowed his eyes and crouched down, charging his pincers with electricity.  
  
"No. Not anymore."  
  
Mr. Shadow growled.  
  
"Fine. Have it your way. I came prepared for this. Wisemon? Annihilate them."  
  
A black-cloaked figure emerged from the shadows.  
  
"As you wish…"  
  
I reached for my deck, and Suzie, coming out of her shock, reached for hers as well.  
  
"EVIL NIRVANA!"  
  
The attack flew out, trapping Lopmon and Suzie in a haze, freezing them in place, horrified expressions on their faces. I managed to slash my card.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!  
  
Digivolution_  
  
Kokuwamon Digivolve to… Tankmon!**  
  
Wisemon snorted.  
  
"Fool. PANDORA DIALOG!"  
  
A red orb of evil energy flew out from his hand, slamming into Tankmon, who slumped slightly.  
  
_This is not good…_  
  
"HYPER CANNON!"  
  
Wisemon dodged, then closed in, coming too close for Tankmon to attack effectively.  
  
"EVIL NIRVANA!"  
  
The haze closed in over Tankmon, and he shuddered for a moment, then righted himself, slamming one of his arms into Wisemon, sending him flying.  
  
"Why? Why didn't it work?!"  
  
Tankmon grinned.  
  
"Mental attacks don't work very well on machines. MACHINE GUN ARMS!"  
  
Wisemon got hit a few times, but was otherwise too fast.  
  
"PANDORA DIALOG!"  
  
With the confined space and his slow speed, Tankmon wasn't able to dodge.  
  
_Come on… there has to be something I can do to help… Anything… He needs me!_  
  
A glow interrupted my search. A smirk grew over my face as I recognized it.  
  
**DIGI-MODIFY! Matrix Digivolution Activate!  
  
Matrix  
Digivolution_  
  
Tankmon Matrix Digivolve to… MetalTyrannomon!**  
  
The metal dinosaur grinned down at the smaller ultimate.  
  
"FIRE BLAST II!"  
  
With alley's confined space, there wasn't anywhere Wisemon could dodge, and he was hit on.  
  
"Yes!"  
  
The attack faded from Suzie and Lopmon then, bringing them out of it, and back to the real world.  
  
"Is it over?"  
  
I nodded, pointing into the smoke pouring from the alley. Lopmon shook her head.  
  
"No… he's still there…"  
  
_What?!_  
  
I looked back in. As the smoke cleared, there was Wisemon. Burnt to a crisp and in quite a lot of pain, but still able to stagger around. I frowned, then grinned as I got an idea..  
  
"Ever see Jurassic Park, MetalTyrannomon?"  
  
He grinned too.  
  
"Right."  
  
And with that, MetalTyrannomon leaned over and bit into Wisemon at the waist, bringing him, and shaking him around, until he finally shattered into data for him to load.  
  
"Eww…"  
  
Suzie didn't look too good, but I kept the wicked grin anyways. 


	8. Mr Shadow

Chapter 6 – Mr. Shadow

I walked down the street towards the house somewhat mechanically, the only sound being the footsteps that Gazimon and I made.

I kicked a rock and made a disgusted noise.

"Can you believe the nerve of those people back there? Thinking I was going to be chummy with them!"

Gazimon chuckled.

"No one said you had to be chummy with them to tolerate them."

I grunted.

"You sound like you almost like them."

"I don't. I have as little respect for the humans as you do. I'd like to show Nonaka who's boss as much as you do. But Kokuamon, Mushroomon and I… we have history."

"History?"

"Nothing you - wait. Speak of the devil."

I glanced back at him, and looked to where he was looking. Gazimon stepped forward.

"What do you need, Kokuwamon?"

The metal insect clacked its pincers nervously.

"To talk to you - Privately."

Gazimon's eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

Kokuwamon looked grim.

"It's important. Old business."

Gazimon looked almost… spooked for a moment. Then he turnd his gaze to me.

"I'll catch up. This is important."

I nodded, and turned back up the street to the house. Gazimon didn't take long. He caught up with me three streets later, as I turned up to gate of the house. I didn't say anything, knowing he would know I expected a report.

"He recomended we distance ourselves from 'Mr. Shadow'."

I looked at him.

"No residual loyalties to him? You told me you were lockd away before he got you out."

Gazimon growled, which shockd me. I'd never seen an outright burst of anger from him.

"Not after what Kokuwamon said, no."

"Are you sure it's not just his partner trying to make trouble?"

Gazimon shook his head.

"No. Kokuwamon wouldn't lie about this - plus it fits to well."

"What fits?"

"We were locked away. How did he know where to find us?"

I grunted.

"So what does it fit?"

Gzimo hesitated.

"Later. He also told me the secret to ulimate level digivolution."

I grinned, but Gazimon rolled his eyes.

"Aparently, in a battle situation, you have to concentrate on a pure and heartfelt wish."

I goggled.

"You're joking, right?"

He shook his head.

"Aparently not."

I sighed.

"We'll… come up with _some_ way around that. You don't get as good as we are - as we're going to be - by being soft."

He nodded.

"What about Mr. Shadow?"

"I'll…"

_What? Make the descisons? Do what I want?_

"…take that under advisement."

Gazimon nodded, and I continued.

"Now. Who did Kokuwamon tell you Mr. Shadow's true identity was? That's the only thing he could have told you."

---

Kokuwamon left to take care of an 'errand'. I didn't know what he meant, but I as willing to leave him to it. Once in the family appartment, I looked down at Mica, who was red eyed fro crying. We hadn't found Delia.

"Go to bed okay, Mica? We'll look for Delia again tomorrow."

Mica nodded.

"I'll get up extra early."

"No."

He looked at me, and I elaborated.

"If Delia were here, she wouldn't want us to skip school, right? But right after school ends, we'll go looking, okay?"

He nodded and hugged me. I returned it, and gently pushed him towars the hall. He went, Mushroomon following, while I walked into the kitchen for a glass of water before turning in myself.

Going towards our rooms, I found Mica and Mushroomon outside Delia's door.

"Didn't I tell you to - oh my…"

Getting to the door and looking in, I saw Delia there sleeping like she'd never moved. Mica looked at me.

"She was gone when I came after you, I swear!"

I smiled at him.

"I know, Mica. I believe you. We'll ask Delia tomorrow when we get home, okay? Maybe she's getting better!"

_Or possibly worse._

He nodded and ran off to his room, Mushroomon still trailing. Watching him go, I suddenly felt old.

I shook it off and went to bed myself.

---

I swore and jumped behind a parked car.

What Kokuwamon had told Gazimon about Mr. Shadow had proven correct. Mr. Shadow had left in a hurry then, and left _this_ behind.

SkullBarukimon

Level: Ultimate

Type: Data

Class: Undead

Attacks:

Glaive Horn

Deadly Fear

This undead digimon is something to be feared. It's Deadly Fear can stop anyone in their tracks, while it's Glaive Horn impales them!

"GLAIVE HORN!"

It was all Lynxmon could do to stay ahead of him, or out of range of its Deadly Fear attack.

SkullBarukimon was a bull digimon made of bones. But somewhere along the way wings had gotten mixed in. But it wasn't hollow, either. Filling it was a black substance with points of light.

I looked down at my cards.

**DIGI-Modify! Strength Activate!**

"WILD NAIL RUSH!"

Lynxmon rushed in towards to standing SkullBarukimon. SkullBarukimon lifted off, but Lynxmon had anticipated this and jumped, slicing his razored claws over the bone.

"DEADLY FEAR!"

_Damn._

I pulled another card.

**DIGI-Modify! Recovery Activate!**

"GLAIVE HORN!"

Lynxmon shook off the fear, just in time to get out of the way of the second half of SkullBarukimon's combo.

_And with the way it keeps tearing up the street, I'd bet Lynxmon wouldn't last long against that hit._

Still, I'd found no wish I could really mean from the bottom of my heart, even if I wanted to go that route.

But as Lynxmon readied for another of SkullBarukimon's charges, I had to wonder if I would have any other choice.

---

Mica by my side, I opened up the door to Delia's room.

But Delia was not inside. With feelings bordering on panic, I turned to Mica, who was starting to tear up.

"Okay. We need to go find her. Now. This is really starting to freak me out."

Mica nodded and gripped my hand. We rushed out of the apartment, Kokuwamon and Mushroomon following. We were at the end of the street before we stopped. I looked down at Mica.

"We need a plan. We can't just go searching for her randomly like we did last night. Where would she go?"

Mica shrugged. I cursed inwardly. Given how much I'd had to grow up since Delia dropped into her own little world, I sometimes forgot how little Mica was, and a panicking eight-year-old is no one's idea of a good time.

There was a hiss from behind us. I spun around to find Mr. Shadow standing deep in the shadows of an overhang. His eyes glowed evilly for a moment, and then he seemed to melt into the stone. His voice remained on the wind.

"You are going to pay for crossing me girl, one way or another. If not you, than your brother. It doesn't make a difference."

A roar was heard from down the street, then the flapping of wings.

Oh no… 

It came into view. DeaxDoruGoramon.

"Kokuwamon!"

"Right, Justen!"

"You too, Mushroomon!"

Matrix Digivolution 

**Kokuwamon Matrix Digivolve to… MetalTyrannomon!**

**Mushroomon Matrix Digivolve to… Cherrymon!**

"METAL IMPULSE!"

MetalTyrannomon took the hit solidly. I ground my teeth in frustration. We were too slow, and the opponent was a mega level. It was only a matter of time before we went down. I squeezed Mica's hand, then drew a card.

DIGI-Modify! Power Activate! 

Hopeless or not, we had to try.

---

Lynxmon was hurting. He'd taken another charge from SkullBarukimon, and I was out of recover cards. I began to sweat.

Can we… loose? 

I remembered Boogeymon's victory over Lynxmon. Of course we could loose. I closed my eyes and clenched a fist. Loosing battle or not, I would not back down.

_We will destroy him and 'Mr. Shadow', or perish trying._

Nodding resolutely to myself I readied a card, and acknowledged a fact.

WE will stand against him. Both of us. But first, we must survive this battle. Together.

And the card began glowing a bright brilliant blue, starting from the base, coming up the top of the card to outline the yellow 'D' with the dinosaur digimon roaring our of it, which began to glow yellow. I smirked in triumph.

Matrix Digivolution­ Lynxmon Digivolve to… BlueMeramon! 

Smirking, I readied two more cards. This wasn't a fight to win; it was a fight to dominate with unrelenting force.

DIGI-Modify! Cerubumon's Emerald Blaze Activate! Power Activate! 

"DEADLY FEAR!"

"EMERALD BLAZE!"

The powered up attack from BlueMeramon gave him the confidence needed to ignore his opponent's mental attack, and spread bright green flames out to sear SkullBarukimon's bones, causing him to howl in pain, aborting the second piece of the combo. Then BlueMeramon changed tactics.

"COLD FLAME!"

Bright blue followed up the path the green had left and cooled the bones rapidly, making them brittle.

Finally recovering, SkullBarukimon launched his other attack.

"GLAIVE HORN!"

BlueMeramon waited calmly, and then when SkullBarukimon was about to hit him…

"ICE PHANTOM!"

A cold, ghostly image of BlueMeramon flew forward, causing Skullbarukimon's bones to shatter before dissipating into data. I smirked again.

"Load it."

BlueMeramon nodded, and loaded the data.

An explosion ripped through the city just then, and I looked over to it. BlueMeramon picked me up and put me on his shoulder, the blue flames strangely not feeling all that cold to me. I chuckled as we ran for the next fight.

"No rest for the wicked."

BlueMeramon's smirk was in his voice.

"Not like we'd want any."

---

I bolted down the street on Phelesmon. Ai had said she'd catch up, that Phelesmon could only carry one of us.

I nodded to a nearby rooftop.

"Phelesmon, set me down there!"

"Right, Mako!"

Settling on the rooftop, I ran to the edge as Phelesmon swooped down on the dragon.

"DEMON'S SHOUT!"

Phelesmon's sonic attack was at least successful in disorienting the beast, distracting him from Justen and Mica, whose digmon were just barely holding on.

I took a card.

DIGI-Modify! MegaKabuterimon's Horn Buster Activate! 

"HORN BUSTER!"

Lightning struck out from Phelesmon's head, engulfing DeaxDoruGoramon. The undead digmon roared, but it left him in place for an attack.

"NUCLEAR LASER!"

"ILLUSION MIST!"

I nodded at Cherrymon's choice. At least the two slower moving digimon on the ground would be harder to hit.

"DORUDIN!"

Or not.

The breath attack might not have hit any of the digimon, but it burned the fog off pretty rapidly.

"FIRE BLAST II!"

"PIT PELTER!"

DeaxDoruGoramon roared again, and lunged.

"MEATAL IMPULSE!"

"ICE PHANTOM!"

A flash of blue from the side I couldn't see on, and something impacted DeaxDoruGoramon, causing him to miss, and slam into a storefront instead. Susie showed up then, Antylamon heading in for the attack.

"ARM BOMBER!"

"BLACK STATUE!"

Both attacks hit while he was still shaking off the rubble, and I began to have the insane hope we could win this if we just kept him off balance long enough.

"COLD FLAME!"

I was a bit surprised to see Jamie directing a BlueMeramon, but shrugged it off. The more power we brought to bear on this guy, the better.

"DORUDIN!"

The small hope earlier died a painful death as Cherrymon and MetalTyrannomon went down.

"BLACK STATUE!"

Phelesmon dropped another statue on the dragon and it glared up at him ferally. It flapped its wings to try and get off the ground to confront him.

"ICE PHANTOM!"

DeaxDoruGoramon let out a small puff of flame, weakening the attack enough that he was still able to lift off.

"DEMON'S SHOUT!"

"METAL IMPULSE!"

Phelesmon tried to get out of the way, but was clipped by the undead dragon anyway. He slammed into a wall, and fuzzed, but didn't dedigivolve. It roared and looked around for his next target, his gaze settling on a lone figure coming down the road.

I took off for the fire escape to get down, knowing I'd be too late.

It was Ai.

"METAL IMPULSE!"

I couldn't see anything, but I could hear a lot of crashing. I got down to see the impossible. Phelesmon, BlueMeramon, and Antylamon had gotten in the way of the attack.

All were down and out of it, back in their rookie stages.

And all DeaxDoruGoramon was doing was standing there, looking at a very petrified Ai.

Then, it roared suddenly, knocking her back, and took off into the sky once again. We didn't have time to consider the strangeness of it though.

"Well, well, well."

Jamie snarled from where he was checking on Gazimon. Gazimon tried to get to his feet, Kokuwamon and Mushroomon right behind him. I sighed in relief as Impmon managed to get to one knee. Mica whimpered, and Justen gasped.

"Mr. Shadow…"

"I thought I'd destroy you while you're down. Rebellious puppets aren't to be tolerated."


	9. Friend and Foe

Chapter 7 – Friend and Foe

Mr. Shadow flung off his cloak, and I gasped.

Mr. Shadow wasn't a mister at all. Mr. Shadow was a woman!

"Delia!"

I looked down at Lopmon, who stirred in my arms. 'Mr. Shadow' was their sister?

Delia, her black hair shaggy and unkempt, started laughing hysterically.

"You silly fools. All you had to do was destroy the tamers. That's all! My own siblings couldn't manage to do that much."

Justen stepped forward.

"What… what you were doing was wrong, Delia! It was wrong, and we won't do it. So – please. Stop this? Come home with us?"

Delia speared Justen with a glare.

"Wrong? I had power, and used it to get more. I could have ruled this world, and then, _then_ we would have been taken care of. And when I could no longer do it, I sent you to do it. Now, you'll simply have to die."

She started giggling, and it broke back into hysterical laughter again. Gazimon, still up and around, stepped forward.

"You aren't their sister."

Delia looked at him coldly.

"And what would _you_ know. You're nothing but a weakling. Worthless trash. If you hadn't been defeated last time, I would already be ruling this world."

Gazimon laughed.

"As if we would let you. You're weak. Weak, and stupid too, for revealing yourself while you're still that weak."

Delia growled at him.

"Weak am I?"

Kokuwamon stepped in front of Justen.

"He's right. You're so weak you have to possess that girl to keep from dissipating into the atmosphere. We might be tired, but we've still got what it takes to defeat you as you are."

Mushroomon nodded, and hopped out of Mica's arms.

"Yeah. We're not useless. _You_ are."

Delia laughed even harder, and it was becoming more and more apparent that this was not Delia, at least not in the head.

"Me? Useless? You ignorant little rats! I'll show you useless! I don't _need_ this pathetic mortal form. It was simply useful to hide this way!"

And then data came pouring out of her, reaching into the sky and forming an impossibly huge shape, even for a digimon. And when it started to finish forming, I understood. Floating there, it spoke, and despair washed over me. We didn't have a chance, not as we were.

"I… AM APOCALYMON!"

He reached a hand up from the top of the multifaceted ball he was perched upon.

"DARKNESS ZONE!"

And then there was blackness. Not in the sense that we couldn't see anything, but in the sense that there was nothing else. And we all hung like limp sacks, our digimon close beside us.

Now on an even plane with Apocalymon, it was far easier to appreciate how truly huge he was. He grinned something hideous.

"Now… which of you should I destroy first?"

His eyes roved over us all, and our slightly recovering digimon. I said nothing. Every moment would give us a better chance, not that I liked our chances, even if all of use were fresh. He finally lingered on Ai.

_Oh no._

The only one of us without a digimon.

"You'll do."

"DEATH CLAW!"

One of the huge claw devices coming out of the orb sped towards her, chain slithering behind it.

---

In Hypnos, I growled.

_This_ was what I got for being complacent and merely watching the Tamers take on the wild ones. Admittedly, they did a much better job than my initial attempts, but then something like _this_ happened, and we were all shot to hell.

"Any progress on breaching that black orb?"

"None, sir."

I swore, and clicked my lighter faster.

"Something's happening inside, sir!"

I looked at my two subordinates.

"What is it?"

"Unknown, sir. But whatever it is, it's breaching in from the digital world. _We_ have nothing to do with it."

"Damn. Just what we need. _More_ trouble."

I was quiet for a long moment.

"Start up Juggernaut. Don't release until I give the signal."

"Sir!"

I growled.

"I know! I know _very_ well that starting Juggernaut and sucking that… thing back to the digital world will likely kill those kids. But the alternative might be far worse. Arm Juggernaut. Please."

"Arming…"

---

"METAL IMPULSE!"

DeaxDoruGoramon, of all digimon, saved her, by smashing into the claw.

"What?"

"DORUDIN!"

The undead dragon's fiery breath sailed into Apocalymon, searing him. Apocalymon growled.

"_You_ aren't invited. Tell your master I will brook no interference!"

Apocalymon smirked.

"Better yet, I'll tell him myself. TOTAL ANNIHILATION!"

A huge force came out in a wave, and DeaxDoruGoramon sped into it.

"METAL IMPULSE!"

Smashing into the wave, he opened a hole in it, one that barely missed us as he continued on to hit Apocalymon.

"Fine. If you won't die… LEAVE!"

Two claws came out and grabbed him, but he dodged. A thousand questions raged through my mind as they fought, most of them wondering just what would make DeaxDoruGoramon of all digimon save us.

---

I hurried down the streets towards the black orb, unlike most people.

_People with sense._

Still, I couldn't help but think I might be needed, or that I might be the cause of it all. And if either was the case, I didn't want to miss it.

Coming to a war torn street, I glanced around.

_Well, this is it, ground zero._

Wandering for a moment, I realized there was nothing I could do, and turned to leave, when I spotted something.

Or someone, rather. Rushing over, across the broken street, I helped Delia up.

"Delia? Del?"

She looked at me groggily.

"Canterson?"

"Yeah. You look… well, like crap to be honest."

She managed a half smile, and spoke with a slur. "'S what I like 'bout you. Always with the honesty."

I grunted and helped her up.

"Yeah, that's me, Mr. Honest. Let's get you somewhere else."

She started struggling.

"No. Justen 'n Mica. He took 'em. Gotta make him pay."

"You're in no condition to-"

She snarled and tried to stand up, but collapsed.

"Don tell meh what I'm in condition ta do! Kids need me. Not ready… Not ready."

I spoke softly.

"Well, unless you can fly, you can't reach them right now."

She started crying.

"Gotta wait then. Be here for 'em, ya know? Gotta wait here."

I sighed and nodded.

"Okay, Del. We'll wait here."

---

"DORUDIN!"

DeaxDoruGoramon streamed green fire out of his mouth at Apocalymon's head as he kept moving, dodging claws.

"BIG BANG!"

This wave was short ranged, but powerful, catching the attacking dragon by surprise, knocking it back.

"DEATH CLAW!"

The claw shot out, but DeaxDoruGoramon was playing possum, and spun in place, dodging the claw, but grabbing the chain in his own. With a roar of triumph, he yanked.

I gaped, not believing what I was seeing, DeaxDoruGoramon actually yanking Apocalymon forward.

"METAL IMPULSE!"

Slamming hard into the digimon flying towards him, Apocalymon was driven heavily back and seemed to be unconscious.

DeaxDoruGoramon, however, turned towards us, specifically me. I cringed, and tried to back away as he came closer, but it didn't work well.

"No… af…"

_He's… trying to talk?_

"No… afraid. F-friends."

"You want to be friends?"

I could tell he was struggling to get words out.

"A… Always friend. Always be friends. P-promise."

_Oh… no._

"Doroon!"

The dragon struggled.

"Hard. Dragon-"

"DEATH CLAW!"

He was cut off by a roar when Apocalymon's attack smashed into his back between his wings.

Mako yelled.

"Hey, don't sucker punch my friends!"

**DIGI-Modify! Matrix Digivoluion Activate!**

**Matrix**

**Digivoluion**

**Impmon Matrix Digivolve to… Phelesmon!**

And as if that set off a chain reaction, all of the others swiped blue cards as well.

**Lopmon Matrix Digivolve to… Antylamon!**

**Mushroomon Matrix Digivolve to… Cherrymon!**

**Kokuwamon Matrix Digivolve to… MetalTyrannomon!**

**Gazimon Matrix Digivolve to… BlueMeramon!**

"DEMON'S SHOUT!"

"ICE PHANTOM!"

"ARM BOMBER!"

"NULEAR LASER!"

"PIT PELTER!"

Sonic waves, an ice form, multiple explosive pellets, a large laser and cherry bombs all slammed into him.

Apocalymon wasn't harmed by the attacks, but like anyone else, when he was attacked, he covered himself, leaving him open to a heavy hitter.

"DORUDIN!"

Apocalymon screamed in pain as he was washed over by a wave of fire. He recovered with a snarl.

"DEDIGIVOLUTION CLAW!"

---

I put the phone down. I was quiet for a moment.

"Activate Juggernaut."

They looked shocked. "Sir!"

I slammed my fist into the table. "We've got no choice. These orders come directly from the top."

They bit their lips, but complied. I sighed. "And may the Kami have mercy on our miserable souls."

_Come on. You kids have made it out of impossible situations before. Do it again._

_---_

Delia was more coherent now, if mostly tired, so I figured she'd be okay.

Didn't mean I was just going to leave her there.

That as when a hole opened in the sky, directly above the black orb shimmered and opened into a patch of green. I looked up at it, and got to my feet as it began pulling the orb into it.

Delia got up beside me. She wobbled, and I had to steady her. Her voice was frightened.

"What's going on?"

My own was soft.

"They're send it into the digital world."

Delia started getting hysterical again.

"What? But if they do that what'll happen to Justen and Mica?"

"I don't know, Del. But they'll make it."

She started sobbing again, and I did my best to comfort her.

---

_Well, that's odd._

There was a tingling feeling all around me. It was throwing off Apocylamon's claws, too. Most hit, but the one heading for DeaxDoruGoramon, _Doroon_, as off enough the mega was able to dodge.

I grabbed Impmon as he flew almost past me, and he bowled us over, causing me to summersault back. What I saw astounded me.

There was a hole into the real world in the bottom, directly under Apocalymon.

_But how to get there…_

I proved a moot point a moment later as we all began falling. Then we stopped falling as we crashed into Doroon.

I gasped in relief when I saw we had everyone gathered oh his back. I looked over at Ai and gave her a thumbs up. I let out a 'whoop' of victory as Apocalymon was sucked through a hole in the sky.

Then we started shaking, and I realized that our dragon friend was having trouble getting us to the ground. The pull of the hole was too strong now that it wasn't blocked by Apocalymon.

Suzie was yelling

"Hold on! It's closing!"

But he bucked then, and I lost my grip on Impmon.

"Impmon!"

He reached a paw down.

"Mako!"

I gave Ai a big grin, tossed her the digivice, then jumped for Impmon.

---

I didn't understand the look Mako was giving me when he tossed my our digivice. Not until he jumped after Impmon. As he grabbed onto Impmon I realized what he as doing.

By weighing Impmon down he was giving the hole time to close.

_But once it closes…_

I turned toward Doroon's head.

"We need to circle back!"

I heard him grunt, and we started back around. We were almost there, and Mako was reaching his other hand out for mine, when disaster struck.

A black claw attached to a chain sailed down out of the hole and encased them, before slithering up and through.

"MAKO!"

And the hole closed.

_Mako's…gone. What do I tell mom?_

---

The birthday party a week later was… subdued. Yamaki had confirmed that Mako had reached he digital world alive, but that they'd lost track of him a few minutes later.

Ai had been adamant that Mako's presents be put in his room for when he got back. So, I gave Ai the book I got her, and carefully placed my gift for Mako on his bed.

Lopmon tugged on my hair from her position on my head.

"It's okay Suzie. He'll be okay, he's got Impmon with him."

My mood was not cheered.

"_And_ Apocalymon."

"He'll still be okay."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we have to be."

"Yeah."

We walked home, but my mood didn't change much.


	10. Double Impact

Epilogue – Double Impact

The first thing I noticed upon waking was that I was falling. I panicked for a moment, before realizing that I was being held onto.

"Relax, Mako."

Seeing Phelesmon grabbing onto me, I did indeed try to relax. I tried to focus on our landing point instead.

Then I remembered.

"Um… Phelesmon? What happened to Apocalymon?"

I could hear the frown in Phelesmon's voice.

"I dunno, but I doubt it's a good thing."

"It's not."

We both looked over, just in time for Phelesmon to catch a claw to the side, knocking him out cold and reverting him to Impmon. Looking up, not wanting to see our approaching doom, I saw Apocalymon, but…

"Ugh. Disgusting."

He was… different, that was for sure. His main body and the ball he stood upon were still there, but they were covered in pulsating red and black veins. The claws that shot out of the holes were different as well, being more like red, organic-looking scythes than the metal pincers that he'd shot out before.

"REAPER CLAWS!"

_Oh oh._

Staring at the incoming scythes, and realizing that we were between an edge and a hard place, I tried to wake Impmon, who wasn't responding.

"Impmon! Wake up! We're dead, if you don't WAKE UP!"

Something shot out of the ground then, piercing Impmon, and consequently waking him, and striking the hand I raised to cover my eyes.

**Biomerge**  
**Digivolution**

**Impmon Biomerge to… Beezlemon!**

I marveled, even as I flipped around in mid-air to land on the ground in a crouch. I had the power back, the power to strike down any foe with impunity. A part of me considered the power new as well, and I knew it must be the part of me that was Mako, but some of it _was_ different.

It felt… cleaner than it had been before, now that I was relying on my own strengths and no one else's to achieve this.

_Eat it, Zhuquiamon, Beezlemon's back in the house._

Seeing the many _many_ claws headed in my direction, I dashed to the side, reaching to my sides for the double barreled delight they held there, and brought my hands up, fingers squeezing off rounds, deleting the scythes just as fast as they appeared.

I grinned manically, and rushed in for the kill.

Apocalymon, in all his veined glory, only smiled right back.

"OBLITERATION SWARM!"

My eyes widened as I caught sight of what happened next. Where scythes should have been coming out, now there came… ADR's?

I looked up at him the red, veiny appearance starting to make a twisted sense.

"What the hell? D-Reaper! DOUBLE IMPACT!"

Apocalymon gave a pleased sneer as I was forced to pause and start deleting the ADRs instead of bothering with him.

"Of course! You didn't really believe that a program like D-Reaper could really have caused all the destruction it did without something prodding its evolution, did you?"

"I admit… DARKNESS CLAW! That I never really thought about it!"

I managed to get several ADRs in a single swipe as I answered. Apocalymon laughed, even as he started adding scythes to the swarm again, taking a personal hand with his minions.

_Quite the workout. Too bad he can't take me!_

"Fool. But it _is_ what I wanted people to think, the D-Reaper all on its own, after all, if I'd been more obvious about it, then that blasted interfering Azulongmon would have sent _his_ digidestined in, and then I might not have gotten enough warning to conceal myself in the core!"

I jumped back, realizing that this was taking way too long. I'd run out of power before he did.

"BEHEMOTH!"

The demonic motorcycle roared into existence beside me, and I hopped on. I revved the engine, and started mowing through the digimon in my path. Counting on the cycle's intelligence to keep us on course, I once more drew the guns from my holsters and started firing into the herd, all the while getting closer to the heart of the problem.

Almost there, I spotted an incoming scythe, and jumped, commanding Behemoth mentally to be gone. It vanished just before the thing hit home, but it was a little late, as I was already more than halfway up the side of the ball, and still rising steadily from the jump.

Starting to realize that he might be in danger from my approach, he started to call in his forces, but they were too late, as I was already on top of him.

"DARKNESS CLAW!"

My hand slammed into Apocalymon, but did little apparent damage. He sneered and backhanded me into the coming fray of weaponry and ADRs.

I dodged frantically, but still took several hits, and eventually landed on the ground. I collapsed to my knees and whipped away a little blood from my mouth.

"I don't get it. ChaosGallantmon destroyed D-Reaper. You should have died with it!"

He shrugged, and more ADRs poured out of the holes to confront me.

"Yes, well, that's when I fled into that girl. It took years, but eventually gained control of her."

He frowned, caught up in his explanation.

"ChaosGallantmon later healing her set me back a bit, but by then I had a large enough foothold to hang on."

He glared.

"And if you _idiots_ hadn't interfered, then I would have been perfectly recovered!"

As he spoke, he got angrier, and as he got angrier, more and more viens started covering him.

"AAARGGH! REAPER CLAWS!"

The sickle-like appendages came flashing in again, and I dodged through them, in the only direction he probably didn't expect.

Forward.

I took more hits, but the claws were destroying ADRs more often than they were hitting me. I reached out mentally, and reformed Behemoth.

His eyes widened at the roar from _behind_ him, but Apocalymon couldn't turn around to face the threat with his bulky body beginning to succumb to the veins that were covering him more and more.

Behemoth slammed into his back with all the force of a Trailmon, disrupting his concentration.

I jumped, finally breaking through, and leveled my guns as my jump carried me right into his face. I grinned widely.

"DOUBLE IMPACT!"

I laughed as I sailed by him, the attack had torn his head to pieces.

Then I realized that he hadn't burst into data. I spun back around as Behemoth circled back to come up beside me.

The head was reforming. He raved at me.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT HURT!"

He glared down, but I noticed that his head was completely reconstructed from the red now. I frowned. What was it Henry had said? D-Reaper was supposed to delete all data that exceeded it's programming? My eyes widened as I figured it out.

I only had to hold on a little longer, and Apocalymon would be gone…

_But what am I gonna do about D-Reaper?_

I dismissed Behemoth, and flipped backwards, gambling on D-Reaper being less of a hassle to destroy. The deterioration seemed to be speeding up as it went though, so I bided my time, saving energy and ammunition.

I was beginning to wear down when he noticed it finally, watching the red sweep in waves over his hand.

"NO! Not yet!"

His glare focused on me, and energy began to gather in his hands as he held them over his head.

"DELETION WAVE!"

As it spread outwards, I did the only thing I could.

I ran.

The ADRs eithere weren't intelligent enough, or weren't fast enough to get out of the way, but the wave was slowly gaining ground. In the end, I dove across a gorge, and tumbled, rolling to a halt on the other side.

The wave finally faded out of existence in the middle of the gorge, and I sighed in relief.

Then I noted that the red vine like structure of D-Reaper had been left in the thing's wake.

I groaned, but prepared to wade back in. If I didn't go kick it's ass, who knew what would happen. Tired, but convincing myself that it was the right thing to do, I jumped back over the gorge and began to walk forward, keeping an eye out for any surprises.

I couldn't see anything really wrong, except for the red wires/vines on the ground, and frowned a bit. That made me think I was walking into a trap.

And it was, too.

Suddenly, a large vaguely defined hill with arms shot up in front of me.

_Crap._

A source of strong data pieced my senses, and I, a demon lord, nearly shuddered at how corrupt it felt. I decided I didn't like that.

"Finally decided to show yourself, eh?"

Predictably, it didn't answer. At least, not intelligibly. I don't speak ear-slitting shriek.

"Figures. DOUBLE IMPACT!"

Firing off the shots, I started running up hill, using the guns to ward off the blows from the arms it had sprouted.

Reaching the top, I paused, then dug down to where I felt the source coming from.

"DARKNESS CLAW!"

Glancing briefly down, I could see the entire thing react as I ripped the core out if it's 'head' with one hand.

_What was it Apocalymon said? He hid in the core?_

Well, I wasn't going to let _that_ happen again. I raised my hand to destroy it, and paused.

_He also said that Takato nearly killed him when he fixed Delia. Now how did he go about it…? Ah yes._

I grinned.

"Bye bye. CRYSTAL MATRIX!"

Red light erupted from my palm as it shot through D-Reaper's core, and I had to balance myself as the 'hill' began to shrivel and die like the rest of it.

When I finally felt the core was dead, I unloaded a round into it, shattering it like cheap glass. Then I glowed as I dedigivolved.

"Whoa…"

I had to hold my head in my hands for a second as I came down from the head rush. I looked over at Impmon, who looked at me, and we both didn't know what to say for a moment. Then he sighed.

"Well, this bites."

I blinked.

_What?_

"What do you mean? We just kicked its – their asses. We rule!"

Impmon looked at me.

"We also can't get home."

I sighed, and I collapsed onto by backside, followed by my back, to rest.

"Oh. Right."

Impmon sighed as well, and joined me on the ground.

"Well, at least we've got each other for company."

I smiled.

"Yeah. Who'd a thought it'd turn out like this."

Impmon grinned.

"Not me. But hey, whatever, right?"

"Yeah."

We were silent for a while.

"Hey Impmon?"

"Yeah Mako?"

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?"

I could feel Impmon's shrug.

"Dunno. Pick a direction and start walking, I guess."

I nodded.

"Hmmm. I don't suppose we could use Behemoth?"

Impmon shrugged again.

"We'll see. We might wanna conserve our strength in case we into something though."

"I suppose."

We were silent for a time again.

"Mako?"

"Yeah, Impmon?"

"Thanks. For not giving up on me. You know, when I lost the power of the sovereigns and all?"

I smiled, and looked at the gunmetal gray glove on my hand, the one with the triangle design on it.

"No problem."


End file.
